Don't Let Go
by VampGurl82
Summary: I told Mags that I would never fall in love. It doesn't exist. But I just couldn't stop thinking about what it might feel like to kiss someone you actually liked. Somewhere between Annie's victory and now, she became what I looked forward to every day.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own any of the Hunger Games books or characters, they belong to Suzanne Collins. The only thing I can claim is a little of the plot to this story. I hope you enjoy! **

Chapter One- Annie

I jolt awake from another nightmare, my shaking hands reaching out to grasp anything, to tell me that I'm safe. I thrash through the covers, as if to search for my twin sister, but it only takes a mere second of this for me to realize that she isn't there.

Against my will, my chest tightens as my memory comes flooding back in like the rush of the tide in a storm. She will never come back. I am sleeping alone. I have been since the last Hunger Games.

Then, before I can let out the shriek of devastation that would wake my sleeping family, I swiftly maneuver around the mattresses before slipping on my boots and running out the door. As the salty air blows back my long hair and chills my cheeks, I begin to feel better. But the only problem is, I know this will happen again. Probably for the rest of my life.

I will see my sister on the screen in our cramped kitchen, one of the final two, being caught and brutally murdered by the victor. Again and again I will see the blood running down her face as she begs him to do it quickly. But he never listens, for he has a show to put on for the people in fancy clothes and make-up.

I run all the way across town, past the victor's village and through the sand until the waves lap against the bottom of my nightgown. I inhale the sea air and try to calm my rapid heartbeat, but I can't. It'll be at least a few hours before I can calm myself down enough to return to the little dark bedroom in our poor house. But even then, I won't be able to sleep.

Today is the reaping. Surprisingly though, this is the first year I've had to take out tesserae in order to help feed my two little brothers, my pregnant mother, and my poor fisherman father.

My twin sister Mae's words echo in my head, the same words she always said whenever the topic of the Hunger Games arose between us. _"You have nothing to worry about, Annie. I'd take your place in a heartbeat. I was made for these games."_

That she was. She had been training ever since she could walk. Being from District Four and all, she fit right in with all the others. Late night practices and early morning runs, making alliances with any possible contenders in our district before their names had even been reaped. She took so much tesserae that I was surprised it took her until fifteen to get drawn. There was nothing she wanted more than to own the title of victor. And she came very, very close. But the tributes from one are also a force to be reckoned with, I guess.

The games never held a place for me. On the inside, I was horrified at my sister's desire for the crown. The only reason I supported her in all her training was because I knew she'd protect me in a heartbeat. She never let me take any tesserae, or even use any sort of weapons she'd practiced with. She called me her baby sister, even though I only came about five minutes later.

I guess five minutes could make a difference though, because she was bigger and stronger than me in every way. She was tall, muscular, and so beautiful. Even though we were twins, I always thought the dark hair and green eyes suited her better than me. I was just a scrawny little thing that helped my mother sew clothes and cook the meals.

But now that she is gone and we no longer have her oil and grain, I had to do something about it. My parents never told me I had to, but I felt it was necessary. Mae could no longer take care of our family the way she did before.

Hot tears roll down my cheeks as I look out into the dark horizon. I miss her so much. But there is another, much more selfish reason that I am upset right now. I no longer have the comfort of a shield. The possibility of me going to the Capitol has increased from nothing to highly likely. If I get picked tomorrow, no one will save me, and I will die because I haven't had a day of training in my life.

I swallow the bile that rises in the back of my throat as I think of what a coward I am. After my sister died, I didn't even attempt at training. Wherever she is right now, she probably hates me. She is probably disgusted at the fact that I don't even care about leaving my family behind. If I die, my brother's will have to take tesserae, and it will be all my fault.

I close my eyes tightly, as if that will help me escape. I can't run anymore, this is as far away as I can get, but it isn't far enough.

I sink down to my knees in the water, letting the wind whip my hair until it sticks to my wet cheeks.

"You know, there's a storm coming. You might wanna get out of here." A male's voice says from behind me.

I immediately whip around and find myself face to face with Finnick Odair, victor of the sixty-fifth Hunger Games. He is now nineteen years old, the heartthrob of every girl in the entire Capitol, and standing way too close to me for comfort.

He stands there wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks, staring at me like I'm a freak.

I gather up my courage and try to pretend I wasn't just crying. Being a victor and all, he'd probably find me nothing short of pathetic.

"So?" I blurt out, hoping it makes me sound like I don't care.

"You're Mae's sister, aren't you?" He says suddenly. I don't know why, but his words take me by surprise. Of course he would know Mae. She was pretty, popular, and a great fighter. But still, Finnick Odair is something of a celebrity. I heard that he chose not to mentor her, but the boy tribute from last year instead. So he couldn't have known her too well, could he?

Suddenly I am on the defensive. Finnick seems to go for any girl he sees. So is it possible that Mae fell for his looks and seemingly false charm during her experience at the Capitol?

Seeing my change in facial expression, he adds, "Don't worry, I don't go for tributes." Then he grins like it's all a big joke.

"You just go for everyone else, huh? I don't know District Four has enough fingers and toes to count them all." I say coolly. One thing Mae didn't have was an attitude. She was nice to everyone, no matter what.

He just grins even wider. "Nah, I don't go for little brats like you. Clearly your sister was the one to befriend."

Since I've been compared to her my entire life, this doesn't offend me in the least. "Well, too bad you don't get to befriend either one of us, Finnick Odair."

"Hey, that's your loss." He runs a finger through his messy bronze hair like he doesn't have a care in world. _Because_ he doesn't have a care in the world. I wonder how Capitol people could fall for someone so… shallow.

"Yeah, I doubt that." I begin to push past him, thinking home sounds pretty good all of the sudden.

"Good luck in the reaping tomorrow." He waves it off without even turning around. After this short exchange of words, I already hate him. Doesn't he care that twenty-three people will die? Does he care that he might have just talked to one of them?

And, as if to make me even more annoyed, he adds, "Nice nightgown, by the way."

"I'm surprised you even know what one looks like, seeing as they always seem to be off around you." I sneer before walking back home angrily.

* * *

><p>"Annie, wake up!" My youngest brother Cabe jumps on my stomach, waking me up from a dreamless sleep. "It's almost time for the reaping!" He squeals, his four-year-old brain not even comprehending what that means.<p>

Feeling a lot number than I was last night, I get up and take so long in the tub that my mother has to tell me that we will be late if I take any longer.

I let her brush my hair back and clip it with a barrette that belonged to my grandmother. I put on a flowered yellow dress that Mae and I used to share, and before I know it, I am walking to the square in silence with my best friend Tales as my family members take their places in the crowd.

"Did you sleep at all, last night?" He whispers to me, meeting my green eyes with his serious blue ones. He was always so serious. I have only ever seen him laugh when Mae was around, which led me to suspect he had a crush on her or something. He watched the entire sixty-ninth Games with us, and he was the only one I'd ever spoken to about her death.

"Barely. You?" I ask, forcing a smile and trying to treat this as a joke like Finnick would. He won't be fooled though. We were practically friends since we were in diapers, so he knows how I think.

"Not a wink. I think this will be my year." He rubs his hands together, as if he's already preparing for battle. I was never really clear on whether he wanted to be in the games or not. My guess is that is probably wouldn't mind. He's almost as good with tridents as Finnick.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can feel it." He says simply.

"And me?" I ask, even though I know he won't be able to predict such a thing.

"You'll be safe at home, watching me get crowned victor." He gives my hand a tight squeeze before turning to face me. "Good luck, Annie." He says before turning and walking to his designated area.

I unintentionally tune out all the opening preparations because my heart is beating so loud I can barely hear. I do register the crowd cheering wildly as Finnick crosses to his chair on the stage, though. Obviously, it's not only the Capitol that loves him.

Now, in the light of day, he looks even better. His bronze hair purposely styled messily as he gives the crowd a crooked grin.

Then it's time for our escort, Maya Fringe, to announce the tributes. I listen as the crowd goes silent. I hold my breath as she rustles around for a name in the big glass ball on the left side of the stage as I silently beg for the name not to be-

"Annie Cresta!" She calls in her high-pitched voice.

I don't let out my breath as I slowly cross the square to the stage because I think my breakfast might come out too. As I pass the tributes, they all look away, except for an elderly woman that everyone calls Mags. Her blue eyes meet mine with some emotion I cannot place.

I stand there as the crowd hesitantly claps their hands, probably wishing for someone better to represent their district. Then Maya crosses the stage to right glass ball, and after fluffing her short, sky-blue hair, she picks a name.

Then, I see Tales Montgomery coming to join me onstage.

**Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I never intended to put this on fanfiction, but i thought, hey, why not? Comments/advice are always appreciated. (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to the people that reviewed / added the story to your alerts or favorites. I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)**

Chapter Two- Finnick

I am sick. Just plain sick of everything. And the really pathetic part is, I'm young. Until I turn old and gray like Mags, I'm going to have to do this every year. And even then, that doesn't guarantee me a free pass to stay home.

I'm not even going into the arena, yet I feel queasy even just sitting on the sidelines. The cheers that my district people give me have the same effect as an annoying fly buzzing in your ear on a hot day. I can't swat this one away though.

I slouch in my chair and turn my solid gold wristwatch over and over on my wrist. I don't even remember the name of the girl who gave it to me, although I can just barely recall a blurry outline of her face in my mind.

I don't listen to anything; I just focus on turning the watch over and over. By the time Mags nudges me to look up, a tall muscular boy with blonde hair is shaking hands with the little thing I saw on the beach last night. I don't have a doubt in my mind that she won't last a day in the arena. She's not her sister at all. She's too fragile.

As for the boy, I might be able to help him get out if I'm up to the challenge. In my four years of mentoring, I've found it very hard to help people when you aren't actually in the arena yourself. I guess you have to learn from experience though.

The tributes are marched over to the justice building and I follow most of the crowd and the other Victors to the train station where cameras are stuffed in my face and people demand to know what I've been up to for the past seven months.

I give them a dazzling smile and tell them I'm thrilled to be going back to Capitol. I tell them that I can't wait see everyone and meet all my new fans. I tell them I can't wait for the games. The only thing I don't tell them is the truth.

"Finnick," Mags waves me over to the train door and signals with her hand that the tributes are coming.

"Goodbye!" I wave to the cameras, "I'll see all of you in the Capitol!"

Once inside, the Victors and the new tributes are immediately escorted to the circular lunch table, where they are serving some kind of thick noodles in a creamy purple sauce. This is when I realize I'm starving. I haven't eaten since before my mid-night swim last night.

I sit down at the table with Maya Fringe and the three other Victors from my District, Callie, Brock and Eddison. Being a career District and all, Four has a lot more Victors than there are on the train right now; nine to be exact.

But since the Career Districts have so many Victors, the Capitol only requires us to send at least four a year. The Victors here treat it like a job, they alternate between years, most only stepping up when they see a promising tribute.

Me however, it seems I will be returning to the Capitol until the day I die. They just can't seem to get over the dazzling young boy that received a trident.

"So," Callie begins earnestly, "Would you two liked to be coached together or separately?" Normally we'd wait until after the little parade to discuss this, but since a tribute from one, two, or four is expected to win, we don't waste time.

Annie Cresta and Tales Montgomery glance at each other, barely over the shock of the extravagant dinner.

Annie says "together" at the same time Tales says "separately". I watch her eyes widen in shock, but she doesn't say anything to contradict him.

"Well, since both have to agree to be coached together, we will do it separately." Callie nods to all of us, as if to make sure we follow her. Forty-five years old and still helping the kids train back in our district, she likes to be in control of everything.

"Alright," Brock sets his muscular arms on the table and looks at the two tributes like pieces of meat before he says, "Who wants Annie and who wants Tales?"

Annie looks utterly in shock, as if someone had just slapped her across the face. I guess she's new at being treated like a show dog. Tales just looks bored.

I know right away whom I want to mentor.

"I want Tales." Callie says while crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back in her chair. Tales nods politely.

"Tales." Brock says gruffly.

Eddison, who hasn't yet looked up from his lunch until now, tentatively meets Mag's eyes. I wonder why he even decided to come, considering the way he shies away from anything that involves leadership. If you want to find him back in our district, he's probably out collecting shells on the beach. His house is filled with the things.

He slowly puts down his fork with his shaking, bony hand. "Mags, it's up to you." He says softly.

"Finnick and I will take Annie." She says confidently, nearly causing me to choke on my food.

"What?" I ask her, thinking she might have lost her mind. Why waste the time coaching Annie when she's sure to be a goner?

"Don't worry dear, Finnick is a great mentor." She pats Annie's hand.

Annie, who seems to have regained some of the cool attitude she had last night at the beach, looks at me skeptically. Then I do the one thing I do best, I make a joke of the situation. I wink at her and give her a thumbs-up.

"Alright," Says Eddison, apparently content to have Tales.

"Enjoy your rest tonight, kids, because we have some busy, busy days ahead!" Maya says while scribbling something in a notebook.

"Right." Callie says between bites of food. "Now what can you do?"

They are both silent for a second, but then Tales speaks up. "I can throw. Tridents, I mean."

"Good luck getting people to fork over enough money for that again!" Brock says loudly and punches me in the shoulder before tearing a roll in half with his meaty fingers.

"Haha, well you never know. He could be as good as me." I say, not trying to sounds arrogant, but succeeding. "I mean, he could be pretty good."

Brock jabs me with the roll, "No one's as good as you, Odair!"

I chuckle like it was perhaps even the slightest bit funny and stuff food in my mouth so I won't have to talk again.

"So, do you think you could be something?" Callie demands, locking her piercing brown eyes on Tales.

"Maybe." Tales says, a little mysteriously. I can't tell from his serious expression whether he is joking or not.

"Hm, I like him so far." Eddison says, as if his opinion actually counted for something in this group of control freaks.

After being the only one who acknowledges Eddison's comment politely, Mags turns to Annie. "What about you, Annie? What can you do?"

"I don't… know. I can… swim." She says, looking like she might throw up or something.

Everyone at the table besides Mags and Tales erupts in a chorus of laughter. Even I can't help but let out a few chuckles. Swimming? Like that would even make a dent in her training scores.

"I'm sorry… I've never been much of a training girl…"

"Yeah, that was her sister." Eddison points out.

"She was a fighter, that one." Callie swishes her wine and smiles fondly at the memory of last year's girl tribute.

"Annie is too." Mags says seriously. This sends the table in to an uncontrollable fit of hysterical laughter. Maya even has to leave the table for a few moments until she can stop giggling.

Mags doesn't look offended at all. Actually, she looks quite calm. Annie on the other hand, looks like she wants to die. I try to stop laughing for Mags' sake, but that only makes a loud snort come out my nose, which makes everyone laugh even more.

Tales bends over and starts stuffing food into his mouth, just as I did earlier to keep myself from doing something stupid. Annie just sits there, watching everyone try to stop giggling.

"Don't worry," She says, an edge in her voice, "I'll make sure I die quickly. It will lessen Finnick's work load and give you guys another excuse to laugh your butts off."

Everyone stops immediately, as if they only just recognized their impolite behavior. Everyone except me moves to apologize, but she cuts them off. "No, it's okay. Laugh all you want, it's only practice for the real thing! You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you? Especially you, Finnick. You'd have more time for all your Capitol girls, no?"

Then everyone is staring at me, waiting to see if I will respond to this outright insult by a defenseless tribute girl. If I respond, I will most likely look bad. But if I don't respond, I will seem weak. I just shrug and give an unintelligible half smile.

Annie gets up slowly and pushes her chair in. "Well, I'm going to have some alone time, if you please. I want to think of the most… _comical_ death I can manage."

After about five seconds, Tales gets up and runs after her, calling her name.

We don't speak for the rest of lunch.

* * *

><p>Dinner is uneventful. Neither of the tributes show up, and we just listen to Brock tells us how he won the games for the millionth time.<p>

I leave early and head back to my room, wanting to catch up on my sleep. Truthfully, I haven't slept in days. Going to the Capitol always sets me on edge, but hopefully once I'm there I can snag some sleeping pills. Of course, I don't know if I'll even have the time to sleep.

I feel nauseous as I think of the billionaire girls that President Snow will allow to come into the training center and line up outside my door. Five minutes of these thoughts sends me to the toilet, watching the grilled steak and rich vegetable soup come right back up.

After I'm sure there's nothing left, I return to bed, feeling considerably more tired.

Just as I'm drifting off though, a scream sends me jumping out of bed, thinking I am still in the arena. I guess it never truly leaves you.

I assume it's probably nothing, but I can't help wondering down the hall in the direction of the scream anyways. After a second scream, I end up right outside Annie's door, wondering what she could possibly be doing in there.

I push open the door, ready to snap at her for waking me up after two days of no sleep, but find her still unconscious and thrashing around in her bed.

I stand in the doorway for a second, wondering what to do, but then decide to wake her up because she sounds like someone is trying to murder her.

I slowly walk over to the bed and tap her lightly on the shoulder, not expecting her to budge. But I am wrong. She snaps up immediately, and looks around the room, gasping.

I consider reaching out to her for a second, but I don't because I'm unsure of how to comfort someone. Usually I'm surrounded by nothing but smiling faces.

She makes the first move anyway, jumping out of bed and standing on the complete opposite side of the room. She looks like a little child, her green eyes filled with tears, trembling like she is freezing cold.

The snappy comment on my tongue disappears and instead I say, "Annie, are you okay?"

She wipes her eyes immediately as a reaction to my sympathetic tone. "I'm fine, Finnick." She spits. "What do you want?"

I mentally slap myself across the face and try to come up with something mean to say, but I can't. I picture this girl standing in the arena and… I don't even know what to think. "I just wanted to see what the screaming was."

She gasps, eyes widened in shock. "Screaming?"

"You were… screaming."

She swallows, and looks around, anywhere but my eyes. I wonder what could have possibly scarred her so badly before the Games have even started, but then I remember her sister. "It's okay though. I mean, it wasn't that loud. Was it… Mae?" I ask, not even bothering to think about the consequences before I just blurt out questions.

"Get out, Finnick." She says harshly. "And don't come back in here unless I invite you in. Which, you can be sure, will be never."

She slams the door behind me, and I stand in the hall wondering why I even bothered to get out of bed in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, I can be hasty with my writing sometimes and make quite a few grammar mistakes. Hopefully this chapter is better since I took the time to read over it for once. Thank you for adding my story and reviewing it, I'm glad you guys like it :)**

Chapter three- Annie

"Annie," Tales' voice whispers from outside my door. I lay in bed after a long night of staying awake incase my screams were to wake up Finnick again. "Maya says it's breakfast time, then we start training today."

"Training already?" I whisper, mostly to myself, but Tales hears me.

"Yes. They don't want to waste even a day." he cracks the door and slips in quietly. I don't budge from my laying position. "You should be happy though, you've got Finnick Odair!"

"So? You can have him." I say, thinking that will raise Tales' chance of winning even more. Although I missed the recap of the reaping last night, so I wouldn't know what to expect from our competition.

"Come on, Annie-Bananie!" he groans, but the use of his dumb nickname for me lets me know he's not mad. He pulls my hand like he used to when he wanted to go play in the water when we were young kids.

"Tales?" I say through the bathroom door as I pull on some pants and a shirt.

"Yeah?"

"I hope you win." I wait until I'm done dressing to open the door and look at him. I thought a lot about this last night when I went to my room. I wouldn't let Tales in, because I needed to think about how I wanted to play this game.

Of course I want him to win. He should win. He deserves it way more than me, and I couldn't bear the thought of his body, cold and lifeless, being sent back to district four.

So before bed last night, I vowed that I would do whatever it takes to make him win. I don't want to see my best friend die the way I saw my sister.

"Annie, don't say that. This why I wanted to be trained separately. We can't do this anymore."

"What? What do you mean?" I ask, certainly having not expected that sort of response after I gave him my life.

"Annie, I want you to promise me you will try to win."

"What?"

"You have to try to win, because we can't protect each other once we get into the arena."

"Sure we can, people make alliances all the time." I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well you and I wont have one, ok?" He says sternly, urging me to go along.

"But, why? I want you to win, I-"

He cuts me off, but I already know where this is going. "We are going to protect ourselves and no one else, Annie. Not even each other."

"But Tales-" I plead, terrified that everything is slipping away from me. From the moment I found out we were both going in, I knew one of us would die. But I at least expected us to stay together until that happened.

"Annie, this is the only way." he squeezes my hand and opens the door to let himself out.

I want to tell him that no, this is definitely not the only way, but I choke on the words. "I still hope you win." I whisper.

He looks at me sadly and says, "Take care of yourself, Annie. Let Finnick train you. Try to fight. For me?"

I want to say no, but I nod anyways and let him close the door.

I wish I were confused. I wish I didn't understand. But I do. He doesn't want me to die, but he isn't ready to die either. I can't say I blame him. Friendships only go so far in the arena. I was foolish to think otherwise.

That doesn't stop the pain though.

* * *

><p>Lunch is the most awkward experience I have ever had. Everyone looks at their food the entire time, refusing to speak to anyone unless it's to whisper to the person right next to them.<p>

I notice that Tales takes great care to scoot as far from me as possible. He even goes so far as to flinch when I reach the fork that was place right next to his muscular arm.

Callie, Brock, Tales, and Eddison eat as quickly as possible, then immediately leave the car to go train somewhere. I can't help but wonder if they will be forming plans like this that involve killing other tributes… or me.

Tales doesn't want to kill me, but who knows what they will tell him during training?

"Well," Finnick leans back in chair and runs a hand through his damp hair, probably still wet from a shower. "What should we do first? Are you capable of anything besides swimming?"

I gulp, the image of Finnick standing in my room last night coming to mind. Did he tell the other Victors about how weak I am? Or worse, did they hear me yelling?

"I can… fish…"

"Alright." Finnick says, standing up and pushing his chair in. "Let's go. We need all the time we can get."

For some reason, the thought of spending the rest of my short life with Finnick Odair puts butterflies in my stomach. Probably because I've known him for twenty-four hours and I feel like he already knows all my secrets.

Mags and I follow Finnick into a vacant car. On the far side of the room are a few boxes filled with knives, spears, paint, and rope. And, leaning up against the corner, is a gleaming silver trident.

I wonder how in the world District Four was able to swing this one. Practicing outside the training center is supposed to be illegal, and here we have an entire train car devoted to it.

Mags sits on the floor against the windows and contentedly folds her hand sin her lap. "I bet we'll hardly recognize you after this." She smiles confidently. Finnick rolls his eyes.

I grit my teeth. No one has ever shown the least bit of faith in me, so I found it very strange how Mags volunteered to train me with Finnick last night.

The first thing Finnick does is pick up a knife from one of the boxes and place it in my hand.

"Okay, here's how you hold it if you're going to throw." He arranges my fingers so they look like I know what I'm doing. Then he picks up a knife himself and shows me how to position a throw.

"We'll start easy, aim for the door. The middle if you can." Then he waves his hand in the air and before I know it, the knife hits the door right in the middle, lodging in so far I can only see the handle.

I can see why someone like him would find me hopeless.

I slowly position myself for the throw, but it doesn't feel right. I try again and Finnick sighs angrily. "Sometime today, please?"

"My bad." I spit out and chuck the knife across the room. The handle hits the top of the doorframe and falls to the ground.

"You weren't holding your arm out high enough. If it's too low, you're going to miss every time." He picks up my knife and shows me how to do it again before handing it back.

I do my best not to insult him.

I try again. And again. And again.

I try so many times, but I'm still right where I started. Of the few times I actually hit the door, the knife doesn't stick at all.

"Can we try something else?" I ask; about to pull my hair out in frustration. I wish I could have just lied in bed all day.

"Just try one more time." He says, like it will actually make a difference. He comes and stands behind me, grabbing my arms and causing me to jump and drop the knife.

"Relax." He sighs, picking up the knife and handing it to me. "I'm going to position your arms." He says tiredly. He slowly guides them to the right position and holds them there. "Do you see how that feels?"

I nod, goose bumps spreading over my arms even though his hands are warm. I hope he doesn't notice them.

He backs away and then says, "Throw it. Hard."

I do, as hard as I can. And it's all I can do not to squeal with delight when the very tip of the knife breaks through the wood in the upper half of the door.

Knowing Finnick won't care, I look to the old woman sitting against the door. "Mags! Did you-" I trail off, realizing that she had fallen asleep. Embarrassed, I look at the knife that Finnick has already taken out of the door.

"Don't get too excited, that would barely wound a person." Finnick says drily.

"Yeah, but at least it was progress!" I snap.

"Yeah," He scoffs, "Progress we should have made an hour and a half ago."

"Well it's better than nothing!" I glare at him, wondering why he feels that it's so necessary to crush by brief glimmer of hope.

He smacks his palm to his forehead and groans. "Annie, do you know where you are? This is the Hunger Games for Godssakes. There are going to be kids that can throw the knife _through_ you. This will _not_ cut it."

"Do you think I'm stupid, Finnick? I know I'm not a good fighter, but I'm trying the best I can!" I say, feeling my sadness turn to rage and my face get hot with anger.

Before I have the chance to get my bearings, a knife whisks by my left ear, sending a shiver of cold fear down my spine.

"_That's_ how you need to aim."

"You could have killed me!" I blurt out senselessly.

"I wouldn't have let it get that close." He says arrogantly as he crosses the room to the door. "We're done for now. It's lunch time."

Even though I'm starving, I say, "I'm staying here."

"No you're not. If you want to last a single day, you're going to need some meat on those bones." He commands gesturing to my thin build.

Then, as if I don't even exist anymore, he goes over and kneels beside Mags, whispering softly to wake her up. I watch, dumbfounded. It's like a totally different Finnick, the way his expression turns loving and caring almost instantly. Mags startles awake and then let's Finnick help her to her feet. Before they leave the room, Mags turns and smiles gently at me.

**What did you think? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, this chapter could be better. But, thinking positive, it could be worse? Don't worry, things will start getting good real soon... I hope you like it! **

Chapter four- Finnick

It seems an awfully lot like the world doesn't want me to get any sleep, considering every time I begin to drift off the slightest bit, I am quickly awaken by something. Last night Annie, and tonight, a soft knock on my door.

I get up and answer it in my boxers, because people can't honestly expect to knock on my door at two AM and find me fully clothed. Right before I turn the brass knob, I reconsider though. It could be Annie, and she would just rattle off some knew comment that implies I'm easy.

Of course, I _am_ easy, but not in the way she thinks. It's not like I actually care for any girls that President Snow lines up for me, anyways.

I open the door and find not Annie, but some other tall, brunette girl in a maid uniform. She probably cleans the train or something. I'm about to tell her to get lost, but then I see the Capitol seal on the breast pocket of her uniform and remember President Snow's last threat to me about making the capitol people watch their favorite victor die a slow and painful death.

So I suck it up and say, "What's your name?"

"Lilia." she says, pulling at her collar so that one of the buttons come undone. She's pretty I guess, but she won't leave any impression on me.

"Well, how can I help you, Miss Lilia?" I say flirtatiously and try not to roll my eyes like I haven't seen that collar thing a million times before.

"I cheated on my husband a few years ago. I told everyone we got a divorce because of personality differences, though." She blurts out, then doesn't waste any time pushing me through the doorway and up against the wall, showering me with sloppy kisses.

* * *

><p>It takes forever for the sun to rise when you are watching the clock. After what feels like an eternity, I decide to wander the train, abandoning all hope of any sleep.<p>

I pull on some jeans and leave without shoes, wandering aimlessly through the cars, seriously envying the people whose snores I can hear through the closed wooden doors.

Soon I am all the way across the train, right next to the room that Annie and I trained in earlier. I'm about to go inside and continue my pointless journey when I hear thumps from inside. I crack the door just slightly, thinking I might be able to ad a new file to my box of secrets, but instead find Annie.

She stands there wide awake, belt full of knives, furiously throwing and throwing at the door.

And most of the knives stick.

I slip in quietly just to watch, and she doesn't even see me. After a few minutes, when she has one more knife left, she takes a moment to position herself exactly right before flinging at the door and wedging it in halfway to the handle.

Then she lets out a huge breath, as if she'd been holding it that entire time.

I wait a few seconds before I clap a few times to let her work was admired. She whirls around so fast that I almost jump. If her belt weren't empty, I'd probably have a knife in my throat right now.

"Don't you ever sleep?" I ask, kind of amused that she would have the nerve to come here alone without the fear of being caught by someone.

"Dont _you_?" She counters, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at me.

"Sleeping is for babies." I say, walking over to the scraps of rope lying next to one of the boxes. "How'd you learn to make that belt?" I gesture to her tightly woven belt that was holding her knives.

"I'm not an idiot, Finnick." she snaps and crosses to the door to pull out her knives.

I roll my eyes and follow her, making a show of pulling out the knives faster, just to get to her. I don't know what it is about her, but she certainly has a way of getting under my skin.

Admittedly though, once you got past her insults, it's nice to have someone around that doesn't fall all over me all the time.

"What are you doing here anyways?" She asks with an expression I can't read.

I give her a smile I know with annoy her. "I thought you could use a training partner."

"I wish I could say no, but-"

"You can't." I finish for her. "So, it seems like your doing well enough with your knife throwing for now, but I think we need to work on your listening skills and your reflexes."

"My listening skills?" she looks up at me, her face filled with skepticism.

"I was standing in here for at least five minutes before you noticed me." I point out.

"No! It was barely two."

"Let's just call it three and move on." I say, taking her knives from her and tossing them aside. "Stand in the middle of the room."

Surprisingly, she cooperates without a word. That's a first. "Okay, I want you to close your eyes, and don't open them until I say you can."

I wait until she closes her eyes so start moving around the room in slow circles. "I want you to count to ten and then tell me where I am in the room. This will let you know what u need to listen for in the arena."

She nods, and I walk on my toes, barely making a sound as I step carefully on the wooden floor in socks.

"Behind me?" she asks, her voice echoing in the silent room.

"Not even close." I say, standing in the left corner in front of her. "Try again. This could mean the difference between life and death, Annie."

This time I move to the back left corner and wait until she says, "You're in the back, right?"

I can tell this purely a guess. "Concentrate. Pretend the walls are trees. Listen to the echo of my footsteps, the sound of my breathing."

This time I move swiftly to her right, standing just inches from her shoulder.

"You're right next to me," she says, sounding frustrated. "This what I have eyes for! I need to learn how to defend myself."

"Alright," I say, pretending she is right. "Keep your eyes closed. When I come at you, try to defend yourself"

"Whatever."

I wait until the silence starts to burn in my ears to lunge at her. I catch her completely off guard because she doesn't seem to understand the importance of listening for predators.

I pin her arms behind her back and have a knife at her throat before she can even scream. "See, Sweet Cheeks? This might not have happened if you were ready." I let go of her and she falls to her knees and glares at me.

"Don't call me that."

"Force of habit." I wink at her.

"Again." She stands up and closes her eyes.

This time, I circle around her before diving at her back. I don't get too far though, because she immediately whirls around and punches me right in mouth.

I back away, rubbing my jaw. "What was that for? We are not practicing hand to hand combat!"

"Sorry," She shrugs; breaking out into the first smile I've ever seen on her. If hadn't just punched me in the face, I might say something about how it suits her much better than her constant scowl. "Must've heard wrong."

"Yeah," I say, mimicking her tone. "You must have." She rolls her eyes and turns to go back to her place, but I catch her arm and pin her against the wall. "Don't worry, though. You're not _that_ good."

"Let. Go!"

"Do you think your enemies will let go of you, Annie?" I demand, but she doesn't answer. I just watch as her eyes turn sad and her mouth pulls into a defenseless frown. I know that look all to well, because I see previous Victors wearing it all the time. She is remembering something. "Annie, will they?" I ask again, more softly, because I suddenly need her to take this seriously. I don't want to watch her little "comical" death scheme.

"No." She whispers, lifting her head up so that our noses almost touch and I can see the little flecks of gold around her pupils. It's almost like something the Capitol would design, except hers are real. If I weren't with the most stubborn girl on the planet, I would almost say it's pretty.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" I jump when I hear a woman's voice coming from the door. Annie and I slowly turn to see Callie standing there in a fluffy pink robe.

I release my hold on Annie and try to step away but she stumbles into me.

"We were just practicing." I tell her.

"Of course you were." She sighs. "Next time you _practice_, will you at least keep it down?" She makes air quotes around the word "practice".

"Callie-"

"Good night, Finnick!" She calls before leaving the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**It's a long chapter this time! For some reason, I just can't make it come out the way I see it in my head! Sorry if you guys don't like it, I kind of skipped around. Hopefully it's okay! **

Chapter Five- Annie

"So, Finnick, how was training last night?" Callie asks, looking right at me. I can feel the blush spreading through my cheeks, but I'm a little too tired to defend myself. Besides, everyone already thinks I'm insane, so what would be the point? We _were_ training; she just came in at the wrong moment. I'm _not_ one if his crazy, star-struck lovers.

"Training?" Brock asks, shoving fork-fulls of eggs in his mouth.

"Well, that's what Finnick claimed." Callie shrugs, faking a pathetic innocent act.

"It's true!" He smiles proudly and then points to his slightly fatter-than-usual lip. "I even have a wound to prove it. Although, I feel it adds to my strikingly perfect features instead of ruining them. My kudos to Annie over here."

"You punched Finnick?" Maya asks, raising her blue eyebrows.

"No, I'm too weak for that kind of stuff." I say matter-of-factly.

"I suppose you could if you catch him off guard." Eddison says shakily. "Although it's not so likely…"

"Not even then. I can't even hurt a fly." I say, giving them a triumphant smile like I'm actually proud. Well, if Tales and I are really going against each other, I might as well not let them know I'm good at something.

Tales looks at me questioningly but I look away, feeling that he doesn't deserve an explanation after what he said yesterday. He was right, but it still hurts.

I snap out of my thoughts when Finnick slams a cup of coffee down on the table, splashing some on the clean white cloth. "I was _not_ off guard. I was simulating an opponent's attack and she totally decked me. She didn't even flinch." Finnick says, telling the story like he's actually proud that his pretty face is messed up.

"Good job, Annie!" Mags says, patting my hand. "He could deserve a good punch once in a while."

I try to smile at Mags, but I can feel my mouth coming down at the corners. "He's lying."

Suddenly, Finnick jumps up from the table and shoves his chair in. His joking smile has been completely washed away, just like a sand castle in high tide. Everyone looks at him curiously, thinking he might destroy something. Surprisingly though, I don't jump when he grabs my arm and roughly pulls me up from the chair, tugging me toward the door like a rag doll.

Then, almost immediately, Tales shoots up from his chair and grabs my other arm before I can get away. "What are you doing?" He demands.

"What are _you_ doing?" Finnick scowls at him, warning him that things might get ugly. I look between them nervously, wondering why Tales has the need to stand up for me when we have no sort of future as friends.

Callie clears her throat. "Tales, let go."

Then, as if Tales just remembered the fact that we are about to fight to the death and he officially ended our friendship yesterday, he let's go. He sits down and mutters a quick "Sorry."

I don't get to hear Callie's reply though, because Finnick practically drags me out of the room and down the hall until we come to a closet. Then he opens the door and piles us both inside.

"What was that about?" I whisper, sensing that I should probably keep my voice down since he made the effort of picking a closet for nice friendly chat.

"You need to decide something." Finnick says, crossing his arms over his chest like I should know exactly what he's talking about.

"You know, lately I've been wondering if the famous Finnick Odair might be bipolar."

He rolls his eyes. "This is important, believe it or not. Do you want to win, Annie?"

"Why?" I am confused. I've never imagined that Finnick Odair had a serious side. But then again, he did commit murder a few times.

"Because if you do, you need to act like it." He pushes my chin so it's tilting up arrogantly and then nods.

"I was." I say defensively. "I went to training by myself last night. That does count, _Master_?"

"It's all about appearance, Little One." He says, mimicking my sarcastic tone.

"Alright, but what's wrong with acting weak so people leave me alone? Johanna Mason did that a few years ago."

"Ah, but you can only act weak if you're not weak."

"Thanks."

"Anytime." He pats my head like a child. "Now, the other Mentors tell me that Tales does not want an alliance. So, if you want to win, you have to act confident. Pretend you have some hidden talent."

"But Tales already knows I don't." I protest, thinking about why it's so bad to just be honest.

"Or does he?" Finnick smiles deviously.

"Okay, so I'll lie. Anything else?" I say impatiently.

"What was the happiest day of your life?" He asks the question so abruptly that it catches me off guard. His gaze doesn't waver though, and I can tell he's going somewhere with this.

So I think. And think. I'm honestly surprised at how hard it is to think of a happy day. Everything seems to run together. "I think it was when my dad took Mae, Tales and I fishing with him for the first time." Right after the words leave my lips, I know I'm right because I can't help but smiling at the memory. We only caught two fish, but I will forever remember that day. The way the air felt out on the open sea, the sun's reflection on the water.

"Every single minute before the games, starting now, I do not want that pretty little smile to leave your face. Think of that memory."

"Why?"

"Because you're not aloud to be sad anymore. You have to look like you're happy to be here."

"Okay…"

"You're a career now, Annie. You need to make the others think you've been training for ages. You need to be confident if you're going to win." His brilliant sea green eyes stare into mine seriously. "Got it?"

The way he says "career" scares me. How long does he expect me to pretend to be something I'm not? Won't it truly be easier for both of us if I just hide and take my chances, maybe try to get a hold of a knife?

Then, I can't but think of Tales and the promise I made that may or may not still exist. The whole reason I stayed up all night to train. I have the same feeling as Tales had toward me. I want him to win, but I'm afraid to die. "What if I don't want to?"

"It's my job to make sure you win, no matter what the circumstances are." He says gruffly.

"You really want me to win, Finnick? Or do you just not want to be the mentor a loosing tribute?" I say it sarcastically, but some part of my really wants to know. I believe he just doesn't want to loose.

"That's ridiculous."

"You mean you don't think I'm hopeless?"

"Oh, you are hopeless. The others just don't know it. Besides, it doesn't matter what I want. This is all you." Then he lifts up my chin even higher than where it was earlier. "Don't forget to wave. See you at the parade, Sweet Cheeks."

Then he leaves me in the closet wondering how someone can manage to imply such a serious message and accomplish a joking mood at the same time.

* * *

><p>A mermaid. That's a new one for sure.<p>

I try to get up on to the chariot in the skin tight, aqua blue mermaid tail in wearing, but I fail miserably. The shiny, reflective scales are not very flexible.

I look around nervously at the other tributes, already sitting tight in their chariots, looking straight ahead with grim faces. I start to wonder how many will be dead on the first day, but quickly stop myself when my heart beat quickens and my palms start to sweat with anxiety.

Then, before I can look around for any sign of Tales again, I feel warm hands on the bare skin of my waist. I expect to see Tales, but instead I get Finnick trying to help me into the cart.

"Up you go."

For some reason, I begin to feel self conscious of my costume. It's ridiculous, really, seeing as the prep team has already seen me stark naked earlier today. There is just something about wearing a strapless bikini top around Finnick that makes me nervous. Maybe it's just the fact that he's already seen so many, much prettier, girls in these kind of skimpy things. If only I could have been a fish like my sister last year. I wonder what the Capitol people will make of this getup. It feels so… dirty.

"That's a good look for you." He says, gesturing to the delicately painted green and blue swirls on my face an arms with a grin on his face.

"That's what every girls wants to hear before she dies. Looking good is _all_ that counts."

He yawns. "Totally is. Glad you can learn something besides fighting from me. I'm growing on you already, my student."

"Hardly."

Then we both watch as Tales boards our chariot, dressed in a merman outfit and carrying a huge plastic trident. "Remember Annie. The plan, code blue? You'll do great for sure with this one." He winks like we have some sort of secret agreement of codes.

I can't help the laugh that escapes my sparkling blue lips. "Got it."

As our chariot begins rolling along steadily, the laughter fades and my stomach turns so violently that I think I may ruin my sparkling fins.

Forgetting everything as we enter the dark tunnel and into the circle, I instinctively lean a little closer to Tales for support. I regret that moment of weakness though, because he immediately backs away and avoids looking at me. I imagine Finnick's voice chastising me in my head.

My throat is dry. My skin is hot, despite the lack of clothing on the upper half of my body.

I was supposed to remember something. What was it?

Everyone is looking at me.

People are pointing at my fins.

It's not until the crowd starts cheering for the last district that I remember to smile. I mash my teeth together and try to think of the memory, but it seems so small compared to Tales and the arena and the fact that twenty-three of these faces will be shown on a screen as their mangled bodies are picked up by a hovercraft.

* * *

><p>I awake to the noise of Maya Fringe pounding on my door with her moisturized and manicured hands. "Get up! There's going to be a full day of training today, Missy!"<p>

At first I think it's my mom, but then I notice that the walls are painted and the bed is too soft. Then I begin to feel the nausea from yesterday creeping back up on me. I force myself out of bed and leave the room in my pajamas because I feel like strenuous activity would put my stomach over the edge, sending me heaving over an empty Capitol toilet.

The first thing Maya says to me when I get to the already full table is, "You do know you have to get dressed, right?" Ever since we arrived here, she's been obsessed with out wardrobe and hair. Last night, during the recap, she couldn't stop talking about how my fins made a big impression on the crowd.

Appearance is everything. I guess that explains why Tales is currently sporting an expensive exercise outfit and gelled hair.

I nod and take my place next to Finnick and Mags.

"What if someone were to walk in here?" She runs her hands through her spiky hair nervously. "Please Annie, try not to do this again."

"Don't worry, Maya, I wouldn't dream of it." I roll my eyes and pick at the giant plate of eggs and bacon. As usual, the table is dead silent.

"Um," Callie begins hesitantly, though I assume it's an act by the glint in her eyes. "I think we should probably all stop eating together. You know, so we can discuss our strategies."

Then, as if it was timed and rehearsed, everyone besides Finnick, Mags and I leave to a different table on the other side of the room where they immediately begin whispering quickly. For some reason, I almost feel offended.

"Was it my breath?" Finnick asks, smiling as usual. He takes package of fancy mints from his pocket and pops two into his mouth, blowing the minty air in my face. He laughs when I wrinkle my nose.

"I wish I'd stayed in my pajamas." Mags says, pointing over to Maya.

I laugh in spite of myself. They seem so laid back with everything.

"Okay, Annie, remember what we talked about yesterday? I only want you to talk to the people from One and Two. No one else is showing much potential from what I can see. Although, if you can get the boy from seven, that wouldn't be bad." Finnick is talking so fast I can barely keep up. "Oh, and don't be afraid to suck up a bit. Because Tales doesn't want you in alliance, you need to get the others first because I don't know what their strategy is. Since your prep team spent so much time on you yesterday, we didn't get to practice much so I would stick with knives. If you have any hidden talents that just decide to surface right now, save them for the Game Maker's because I don't know how we are going to raise your score. Oh, and I want you to eat all that." He finished, pointing to the huge plate. Wow, I guess I spoke too soon about being laid back.

"Do you ever breath?" I ask him, dead serious.

"Try to restrain from making sassy comments like that, would you? It's not going to help your case."

"Yes, Master."

Mags chuckles and pats Finnick's arm. "I told you he was a good mentor."

"I just think he wants his tribute to win." I shove some eggs in my mouth and then plug my nose so I won't taste them. I can't stand the though of food right now, but I have to admit, Finnick is right. I need to gain some weight before the arena.

"Is that what you really think, Annie?" Finnick asks, staring at me with those sparkling blue-green eyes everyone loves.

Truly, it is what I think because I don't know what else to think. Finnick seems like so many different people that I can barely keep up. He couldn't actually want me to win. He can barely even stand to sit next to me. I don't answer though, because I feel like I might offend him for some reason.

"Aw, Annie, Finnick's a good guy." Mags points at me with the tip of her fork.

"I know." I say, just because I feel it would put me in a bad position to argue. No matter the reason, he wants me to win, so that's all that should count.

* * *

><p>I thought this day would never be over. Honestly, it's a relief to be walking back to my room before dinner.<p>

I stuck to throwing knives, just as Finnick told me, and I managed to have a conversation with the girl tribute from One. Her name is Trille and she can throw a spear from a mile away and not miss by an inch. She introduced me to the male tribute, Prince, and they invited me to sit with them at lunch. They asked what I could do, and I lied and said I was good with knives. Finnick would be proud.

I laughed at all their jokes and agreed with all of their mean comments about the other tributes. They look a lot smaller this year than they did in years past. Well, except for the boy from two. He's eighteen and he's almost a foot taller than me.

I guess the tributes from One are nice enough, if you manage to forget about the fact that they could slit my throat in the night.

A shiver runs down my spine at the thought. If only I could trust them like I would Tales. He would be a great partner.

My hand is on the knob of my door when I remember that I left my district token back down at the training room. It's the shiny purple hairclip that belonged to my grandmother that I took off when I had to let my hair down at the camouflage station.

I groan and make my way back down the hall to the elevator and ride back down. When the door opens, the former brightly lit hallway is nothing more than a pitch-black underground tunnel. I briefly consider going back, but then decide against it almost immediately.

What kind of victor is afraid of the dark? Finnick would kill me if he saw me turning away from this.

I slowly walk down the hallway and open the door to the large training room. It's not dark like I expected though. No, definitely not.

I can see the illegal scene unfolding before me in the middle of the room perfectly. It all happens very fast.

The large boy from District Two on top of Prince.

The sharp knife that drips with fresh blood.

The sadistic smile on Two's face.

He stabs and stabs over again until he sure the boy is dead. Instead of running, I stand there because my feet have somehow become cemented into the ground. The pool of blood is spreading all over the floor, but the boy doesn't care. He just keeps stabbing and stabbing.

I watch, completely perplexed. Is this how I will die in the games?

It's only after he has cleaned off the blade with his shirt that he notices the wide-eyed girl standing in the doorway, frozen with fear.

"What are you doing here, girl?"

I swallow. "I, um, forgot my token." I stammer.

"Really?" He asks, coming toward me with the blade, smiling.

"Yes. But it doesn't matter. I have to go." I try moving my lead feet out the door, but he's too fast for me. His hands instantly find my neck and pin me to the cold wall.

"I'll kill you too, little girl. I'll kill you all." His hot breath spreads over my face.

"Please." I gasp, "The games haven't even started." I choke out. What was I thinking, pretending all day that I was strong? I get woozy at the sight of blood, and I'm about to die of fear before this giant even kills me.

"But when they do, I'll kill you. I'll make you wish you were never born." Then he rubs the tip of the knife across my throat lightly, decorating it with Prince's blood.

Maybe this better. Maybe it's good that I don't have to choose between my life and Tales'. I just wish I could have told Finnick I'm sorry his tribute lost.

Then we both turn to the door because there are many pairs of footsteps coming down the hallway. My heart nearly jumps out of my chest. "See you later, little girl." He delivers a blow to the side of my head before dropping me to the ground, placing the knife next to me, and running out the opposite door.

The room is spinning, and I hold my throat trying to gasp in as much air as possible.

I hear a man scream, "He's dead! She killed him!"

I don't have time to defend myself though because I feel someone hit me again and everyone goes black.

** Annnddd, I bet you didn't see this coming! Sorry about spelling mistakes, I was kind of hasty with this lol. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to all my reviewers and favs/alerts! Did you enjoy the shock of the last chapter? I like to keep you on your toes :P (and I'll explain the reason later on in the story if I need to) I'm sorry for being hard on myself, it's a natural tendency! But, hopefully you guys love this chapter because... not to brag... but I really like this one :) Guess who took the time to edit? This girl xD **

Chapter Six- Finnick

Whispers outside Annie's door snap me out of my drowsy state. I sit against the wall, running my fingers lightly over one of the sharp knives I brought with me.

"I don't know! What am I supposed to say?" I recognize the voice as Tales'. He sounds a little nervous. Scratch that, _very_ nervous.

"It's prefect, really." Callie insists, sounding irritated, "You need to decide what you want right now, Tales."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just not good at this." Tales sounds ashamed now. I quietly get up and press my ear to the door.

"D-do you want us to tell her?" Eddison says. I imagine him rubbing his hands together in that nervous way of his.

"No, no. She won't believe it."

"Just do it, Tales." Callie says seriously. There is something about the tone of her voice that sets me on edge. They are strategizing.

"It's fine, just keep being her best friend. She's a girl, I've seen this a million time before." Brock grumbles.

"I know it'll work." Tales says, all the nervousness seeming to evaporate.

"It'll be no problem to get rid of her as you please." Callie says. My stomach feels tight all of the sudden. It's not every day you get to hear people planning to kill off your tribute.

"I know."

The doctor said to let Annie sleep until she wakes up on her own, but I imagine she will be fine by now. They can fix a concussion in seconds here, and she'll really need to hear this for herself. Something tells me she won't believe a word I tell her.

I walk over to her bed and shake her shoulders. She wakes up immediately. "Finnick!"

"Annie, you-"

"I didn't do it, I swear! It was the boy from District Two!" She says in a panicked voice. "Why didn't you wake me up? Am I going to be punished? Are they going to kill me before the games even start?" She jumps out of her bed and starts stumbling to the door.

I grab her and steady her shoulders. "Calm down! They found the fingerprints on the knife right away."

You'd think she'd be relieved, but she presses on. "Did I miss training today? Do the tributes from One not want the alliance anymore?"

I sigh, remembering the chaotic scene from last night. They didn't know what to do. They cut off all public access to the training center while they ship another boy over here. "There is no training today. The Games have been postponed for one day. They are sending up Prince's brother. I think his name is Shim or something. Anyways, I have to tell-"

"His brother?"

"They looked the most alike." I shrug, not because I agree, but because there is nothing I can do. "He is taking Prince's name as if nothing has changed. The Capitol is not obliged to tell the public what is going on. Eck, I sound like some kind of reporter."

"You mean that they are just forcing his brother because Prince got killed?" She looks horrified.

"I think he wanted to anyways. He was taken from his district while screaming about how he was going to kill the other boy. Joel? No, Noll. But Annie-"

"Oh." She says, letting out a huge breath.

"You should stop doing that." I blurt out, even though we have important matters to discuss.

"Doing what?" She asks defensively.

"Practically suffocating yourself every time you get nervous. I think it's unhealthy. So, now that we have that covered, you need to-"

Then, before I can finish, Tales bursts through her door. "Annie, thank goodness you're okay!"

I clench my fists in anger. I've wasted time.

Annie looks at me, and I'm about to ask her what she wants when I remember that I'm still holding her. I let go, not taking my eyes off of Tales as he hugs Annie and tells her that he was very worried.

Even if I hadn't heard the little chat in the hallway, I'd know he was lying. I have too much experience to fall for this. Right now, Annie seems too believe him though, and that annoys me. Honestly, I thought she was smarter than that.

"Tales, they can mend a minor concussion in a few minutes with all the stuff they have here." I say simply, just to make him squirm.

He just looks at me blankly. I can tell he's worried about me though, I can see it in his eyes.

"Just saying." I shrug.

"Anyways," Tales continues, "Annie, I was wrong about our friendship. The alliance."

"What do you mean?" Annie looks up at him, literally hanging on every word. I grimace. What happened to that girl who wanted to win yesterday?

"We should stick together."

I interrupt the little love fest. "We'll have this talk later at the dinner table, shall we? It's time for training. Let's not waste an extra day!" I then shoo Tales out and practically slam the door in his face.

"What's your problem? I was about to make an alliance! Isn't that what you want? Tales is good!" She looks panicked again.

"I was trying to tell you before! He is lying."

She looks horrified. "He would never lie to me! You don't even know him, Finnick."

"Annie, come on-"

"Let's just train, ok? I think I can decide this for myself."

I have to stop myself from yelling at her. I resolve to think of something later because she has been awake for five minutes and she looks like she might have a heart attack. For now, I'll just keep her away from Tales.

* * *

><p>I'm almost to my door when I feel the tap on my shoulder. I can smell the perfume. Lilacs.<p>

"Hello there." I smile down at the girl. Well, woman. She looks about ten years older then me, but she's at least a foot shorter.

I try to tell myself that it's only the dinner that's making me sick. Not that fact that this is getting in the way of me thinking up a strategy for Annie.

"Hello. I stole my mother's will and rewrote it so that I would inherit her fortune."

Yeesh. Talk about a first impression.

Not wanting to go to my room right now, I just pull her around the corner by the elevators. Hopefully a few kisses will just be enough. I don't know if I can manage much more. I need to get to Annie's room anyways.

I take her into my arms and slowly bring my lips to hers. I try to let myself fall into the usual state of ignorance, but all I can smell are lilacs, and they are giving me a headache. She even tastes like them. It's awful, first the train and now this. Usually I don't have to do this until the games begin.

I stop, because I have a feeling I might fall over or something.

"What's wrong?" She asks in a high-pitched squeal. It rings in my ears.

"Noth-" I stop when I see a girl with long black hair and green eyes looking at us from the hallway. As soon as she sees me, her pale face turns bright red and she runs away. I imagine her holding her breath in her usual nervous way as she dashes down the hall. I hope she can run that fast in the games.

I want to go after her, but I can't. I haven't done enough yet. I continue kissing this woman I don't know the name of until I'm sure I smell like a flower. She wants me to stay longer, and she offers me her pearl necklace.

I decline as politely as possible, and as soon as the elevator doors close behind her, I run to Annie's room as fast as I can. I don't know why, but I feel like I owe her an apology or something. I bang on the wood; my heart beat quickening with every rap.

No one has ever seen me like that before.

"Annie, I know you're in there." I say after about five minutes.

Then, as if it couldn't get any worse, Tales answers her door. Once again, I'm too late. I managed to keep her away from him at dinner, but now I can see I've failed in the long run.

I push past him and walk right in. "Why are you here?"

"Why do you care?" He closes the door and glares at me. "As far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't be getting jealous over one of your tributes."

"_Jealous_?" Darn, I actually meant for that to come out sarcastic.

"I saw what you were trying to do before. You're sick."

"I was coaching her, Tales." I say in a grown up way, even though he is only a few years younger. "You should know what that's like, considering your bright little talk outside Annie's room earlier."

"What?" Annie asks, looking annoyed.

"He's just lying to you, that's all." I cross my arms over my chest. I have no idea how to approach this situation. "Tell her, Tales."

"I thought we went over this." Annie says, waving her hand in the air like it's no big deal. You can't miss the shake in her voice though.

"Don't worry, Annie. He just wants every girl to believe what he says."

"Really? Was that the best you could do, Tales? She is my tribute, not my girlfriend. Now, feel free to leave so we can talk without the competition overhearing." I say coolly.

"Competition?" Annie gasps, "We are allies! You can say anything that you say to me in front of him."

I grab Annie's hand. "Annie, please be reasonable. Don't you at least want to look in to the situation?"

"Don't touch her." Tales shoves me away. "You can't manipulate everyone with your good looks."

"You're manipulating her!" I shove him harder, feeling my adrenaline kick in. "How could you do that? She was your friend."

Then, apparently, Tales has nothing left to say. I see his fist coming so I dodge it and strike his shoulder. Then he tries to come at me again but Annie yells for us to stop.

Tales is by her side immediately, playing good guy. I clench my fists by my sides. Never have I wanted someone to believe me so badly before.

She's just another tribute, another piece… so why do I care so much? She's not even worth it…

Then I'm running down the hallway to Mags' room and banging on her door. Sheesh, I'm a wreck tonight.

"Finnick, what's the matter?"

I come right in and sit on the couch, turning my watch over and over.

"Mags, Tales is planning on killing Annie."

"Well, isn't that the point of the games, dear?" She says, coming to sit next to me.

"But you don't understand! Didn't the others request an alliance today?"

"Well, yes, but all alliances end at some point."

"Yeah, but he's playing with her emotions! He's going to make her weak!"

"Then you've got to make her strong." Mags says, looking at me like it's completely obvious. I love her, but she can get on my nerves with her lack of explanation sometimes.

"I'm trying, but I've only got one day! She's putting all her faith in Tales, and-"

"Finnick, calm down. I think you're running on almost no energy now. How long has it been since you last slept?"

"It doesn't matter! Annie is going to die if I don't come up with something!" I snap. But then I see her looking at me expectantly and I sigh, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do."

"Finnick, there's a reason I wanted us to mentor Annie. She's… different."

"How?"

"Don't pretend you can't see it."

"She's scared, just like the rest. She's a little girl who isn't ready."

"Oh, Finnick." Mags sighs and pats my hands. "Put a little more faith in her. I have a good feeling about this one. Besides, I think you've grown to like her, so it would be a real shame if Tales were to kill her…" Mags trails off.

"I don't like her! Well, I mean I like her, but-"

"Finnick, please. Just go to bed. You're going to need your wits about you tomorrow."

* * *

><p>After staying up all night once again, I walk into the small room with a determined mind. I spent all night waiting outside her door, and at about four in morning, I realized how I could get her to believe me. The only way to make her stronger is to break her first. I have to make her vulnerable, and question everything about Tales.<p>

When I open the door, she's sitting with her shoes up on the expensive couch and Mags is dozing off in the armchair. I walk to the couch and push her feet off so I can sit.

"It's about time."

"Sorry, I was catching up on sleep."

"Lair." She has an expression I can't read.

"We're here to practice for the interviews, not to get into my personal life."

"You were with a girl all day, weren't you?"

I ignore her, determined to make the most of this time and continue with my plan. Besides, I'm feeling a little hysterical, so it's better if I just get to the point. I begin, "How do you feel about getting drawn right after your sister?"

"Why won't you answer me?"

"Because you're supposed to answer me!" I toss my index out around me and just close my eyes. I lean against the soft leather and wish I were somewhere else, with some other tribute. So much for the plan.

"Finnick." Mags whispers. She gives me a pointed look.

I close my eyes again, leaning back to get my bearings. I should never let myself go this long without sleep again.

When I finally open my eyes, Mags is sleeping, and Annie is looking at me. "Finnick?" She whispers. "I'm sorry. I'm just… scared."

"You're not supposed to be scared." I say, feeling quite embarrassed about the way I've been acting. Annie's seen me act crazier than I have in years. Probably since my Hunger Games.

"But I am. And so is everyone else. The only difference is that I'm not afraid to come right out and say it." And I can tell she's telling the truth. Her sparkling green eyes look at me with nothing but sincerity. "I'm not afraid of the truth like you are." She doesn't mean it to be an insult.

Instead of denying it, because no one has ever said anything remotely like this to me before, I blurt out, "You know I'm lying?"

"Of course. But I know you have your reasons. It probably goes way deeper than I know… but…." She shrugs. "I can tell it's killing you."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"I just know. Well, I didn't always… but when I saw you with that girl…"

"Well, you're wrong."

"It's been known to happen." She shrugs and leans back, giving up on me like I almost did to her. "Let's get this over with."

Then, somehow, we end up playing a little game. Every time I ask her an interview question, she asks one of her own. By the end of our allotted time period, I know that she's always wanted to ride a horse, her favored color is red, and almost every single good day of her life involves Tales Montgomery. She knows that my mother is almost dead because she is addicted to pain medication, Mags is one of my only real friends, and I hate lilacs with a passion.

I forget we are at the Hunger Games. She smiles a real smile. We even laugh a little.

No matter what I say or do, though, she won't take my advice about Tales. And when it's time to go, I just want to grab her and bring her back and beg her to believe me, but I just hold a cool expression.

"Good luck tonight." I tell her, knowing she's going to need luck much more tomorrow.

"Thanks." She frowns and scratches her wrist. "Maybe you should… I don't know... give the girl thing a rest. Get some sleep…"

And then she leaves.

"I knew this would happen." Mags says, getting up from the chair. She probably wasn't even sleeping, just listening. I feel extremely frustrated.

"What?"

"Finnick, your not just a mentor. I don't know how, but somewhere beneath all that senseless fighting you saw it too. You know. You know she's different, and now you don't want to loose her." Mags folds her arms, looking quite fond of herself.

Of course Mags would know. She could probably see it from a mile away.

I realize then that they don't exaggerate when they say, "it hit me like a ton of bricks".

I feel like I've just been slapped in the face.

I realize that I'm never going to be able to live with myself if Annie dies. I can't let Tales do it.

I realize that somewhere between the constant banter while training and the interview practice, my reasons had changed completely. At first, I was merely putting up with her, hoping I might be able to at least mentor a winning tribute this year. But then I noticed something.

She is different then anyone I have ever met. She doesn't hide anything, not even her distaste for me.

Mags is right, I do not want to loose Annie Cresta.

**Yesss, you probably don't want to hear this, but could you maybe give me a review...? :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it took so long, I've been at camp. I hope you like! **

Chapter seven- Annie

I don't recognize myself before I leave for the interviews. I have to wonder for a second who the girl is with the deep red lips and the sleek black dress. Her hair even hangs down her back in beautiful dark waves, adding to the stunning effect. But you don't notice any of that. The only things you notice are her eyes, so terribly sad.

I try to smile, but I don't like the contrast of the white teeth against the blood red lips.

There is a knock on my door. I expect it to be Tales, but it's Finnick, dressed in a tuxedo. I bet the girls will be swooning over him when he walks onstage. For some reason, this makes me uneasy.

"Can't take your eyes off me, huh?" he walks past me and into the room, staring at me with those famous eyes of his. The blue tie he is wearing makes them look even prettier.

"Well, I bet the girls will enjoy this." I say, trying to cover up my nerves.

"I don't care. I'm not dressed for the girls." he winks at me. I smile in spite of myself. I don't know why, but being around Finnick, especially today, can sometimes make me forget I've been sentenced to death. I've known him for a week, but it feels like years. "Anyways, for once I think I'll have some competition for the title of the most beautiful."

"Really? Did you just compliment someone besides yourself?"

"Have you looked in a mirror, Annie?" he guides my shoulders back to the mirror on the wall. "Sponsors will love you."

"Have you forgotten my score of four?"

"Scores don't really matter…"

"Didn't I tell you not to lie?"

"I guess you caught me this time. But I've been telling you the truth about everyone else. Even Tales. What kind of name is Tales, anyway?" he says it in his usual joking tone, but it sends a shiver down my spine.

"Why won't you just believe me about him? I don't understand." I whisper, still looking in the mirror so I don't have to look at him. I stare at my lips, the color of blood.

"Because," he says, stepping in front of the mirror and dabbing my glossy eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, "I don't want you to end up like your sister. Don't cry; it will mess up the make-up."

I press my lips into a hard line and swallow my tears. "You'll see. One of us will win."

"Annie, you can't let him win. You don't even want him to."

"Finnick, I'll be dead long before I get to make a choice."

"The choice started on the first day."

"I have to go downstairs now. I'll see you... After." I say, not knowing how tributes in the past have been able to handle themselves knowing they might die tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Maybe it's just me, but my room feels like a desert. I've stripped down to an undershirt and shorts and I still can't seem to get cooled off. I'm sweating buckets, despite my skin, which is covered in goose bumps. I have to wonder if this is a side effect of extreme nervousness.<p>

After gulping down my fourth glass of water in the hour, I decide to step into the hall and see if it's any better. I feel completely alone. All of the other tributes were probably smart enough to snag a sleeping pill or something.

I walk down the hall slowly, focusing on keeping my breathing even. I wish someone were here to comfort me, but the only one I would want is Mae. She always knew what to say, and she always told the truth. She never said it would be okay when it's not, but she would make it seem that way.

I wish she were here with me, but I know it's impossible, even if she were alive. All I've got is memories.

"Psst, Annie."

I whirl around to see Finnick's head peeking out a hall closet. It's so ridiculous that I have to ask myself whether or not I'm dreaming.

"What is it with you and closets?"

"What can I say? They just… get me." Finnick says, rubbing the door with his palm in a seductive way. I roll my eyes.

It seems almost wrong to change moods so quickly. I press my lips together, trying not to smile. I've got focus on tomorrow…

"Actually, I'm taking a certain someone's advice." He raises his eyebrows and smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"What?" I ask; preoccupied with the shivers that have suddenly replaced the heat flashes.

"Get in," He says, "Or they'll see you." He points down the hall where two nicely dressed girls are pacing.

I get in, just because I don't want to know what will happen if they see me with Finnick.

"You're ditching your girls?" I ask, rubbing my arms to get rid of the goose bumps.

"They aren't mine."

"Sorry, I know."

He puts one arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him, rubbing my arm. "You know, for once I'm wearing more clothes than you are. What I surprise that I would be the one keeping you warm, huh?"

For a second I don't know what to say, seeing as this situation is awfully weird, but I decide to just let it go. Nothing really matters anymore anyways unless I can stay alive in the Games, so I might as well enjoy company on my last night. I don't pull away.

"You're right, I am surprised. I didn't think you even owned any long sleeves."

He smiles. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Finnick, you truly know how to lighten a mood, I'll give you that."

"Finally," He runs his fingers through his messy bronze hair, "Someone is giving me some credit."

"You get plenty of credit." I point out. Everyone absolutely adores him.

"Well, not from anyone that matters." He traces patterns on the door with his finger.

I adjust my position so that I'm not on my knees. "And the opinion of a dead girl matters to you?"

He taps my nose with his tracing finger. "She won't be dead until she's older than Mags, living happily in the Victor's village."

I sigh. "You're too confident."

"Eh, it makes up for your lack of, Annie. Everyone is so dull around here, even the Victors. It's depressing."

"I don't know…" I say, "I think that the other tributes are pretty positive with they way they sulk around and don't speak to each other. But then again, Eddison is some close competition. He's always so incredibly motivational and peppy."

We both laugh then. Almost every Victor here is destroyed. It's not funny, but it is at the same time. Even if you win, you don't really win.

Finnick is lucky, though. He doesn't seem too damaged at all. He seems like he can brush anything off his shoulder, just like an annoying bug.

"That actually wasn't too bad. I think you might have picked up on my amazing joke skills. However, you need some work. That was amateur level at best." He squeezes my arm gently.

"Finnick, I never thought I'd say this, but I might actually miss you when I'm dead. This might be one of the weirdest things I've ever done." I lean my head against his shoulder, actually feeling content with my death for the first time since this whole thing started. I don't know what it is about Finnick, but he's not as bad as I thought. I think we could have been good friends.

Then, I accidentally let my mind wonder.

It goes back to district four, if Tales and I only hadn't been reaped... Maybe we would all be friends. That would be nice..

He interrupts my thoughts, "Annie, I think I should probably tell y-"

He doesn't get to finish because the door bursts open suddenly, filling the closet with light. "Ah, there he is." Says a man dressed in a tuxedo and yellow tie. Another man behind him nods.

Finnick gets up immediately and looks at them eye to eye. I stand with him, but I shrink behind him. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, actually. Mr. Odair, can you tell me what time it is?" The man says angrily.

"I'd say a little after four or something." He shrugs and leans against the doorframe.

"It is exactly four twenty three, Mr. Odair. And if I'm not mistaken, you had some business to attend to tonight?"

"I'm pretty sure you're mistaken." Finnick says, raising his chin up in the air just like the stuffy, yellow tied man. "I thought I was at liberty to occupy any closets I pleased."

I smile in the shadows.

"Well, actually, you're wrong. We need to take you win us, now."

"Actually, that doesn't really work for me. See, I was just going to bed and-" Before he can finish, two more men step into the light and grab his arms so he can't fight them.

"Finnick!" I jump out of the closet after him, but the man stops me.

"Brian, please escort this little girl back to her room." says the man with the tie. The man that's not currently dragging Finnick toward the elevator grabs my arms and starts towing me effortlessly down the hall.

"Annie, I'll see you after the games! I prom-" he doesn't get to finish because one of the guys claps his hand over his mouth as they cram into the elevator and repeatedly push the button as if that will make the doors go faster.

The man shoves me in the door and locks it behind him, making it impossible to see what Finnick could have possibly done that was so wrong. I've practically been with him the whole time, so he couldn't have done anything that bad. There must have been something though, because despite his attitude, his eyes were filled with anxiety.

I try to pick the lock with one of my hairpins from earlier, but it's no use.

Now I have two people to worry about.

* * *

><p>I've never much cared for lightning. It always made me uncomfortable, no matter how safe I was in my in my little house next to my family.<p>

That's how the morning is. The only problem is, its like I'm standing alone in the middle of the ocean when the storm hits.

My stylist, Spencer, gets me ready in the morning, and we don't talk at all except for when he tells me to turn or lift my arms. He just looks bored, having to dress someone who is probably not going to win. I don't remember the morning at all when we get on the hovercraft. As we drive to the games, Spencer sits next me on a little couch and gives me a plate of something warm and rich smelling.

"I know you don't want to, but trust me, you will need it."

"Thank you," I mutter, "For everything."

He grunts and starts sketching something on a napkin. I try to eat the food, but I just can't. I end up spitting some out because it's making me sick. I nervously scratch my palms until they are raw. I can't stop thinking about Finnick and what is happening to him. I can't stop thinking about my death. Tales' death.

As I step onto the metal plate, Spencer says, "Good luck, Annie."

I try to nod in thanks, but my neck is too stiff. Then I am rising up in to the arena and I feel that I may pass out or something. Sunlight blinds me, but I hear the rushing of a waterfall nearby. The silhouette of the cornucopia is up ahead.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Seventieth Annual Hunger Games! Let the games... Begin!" Claudius Templesmith's voice booms. The ground seems to shake with his voice. I slightly wobble on my plate, careful not to fall off.

All of my senses seem incredibly heightened. Everything is too loud, too bright, too clear.

Then all of he sudden it's time to Move. I just want to run and hide somewhere where I can make sense of what's going on and where I am, but instead I take off running toward the horn shaped outline in the distance.

I know that if I don't get a weapon now, then I never will.

I run as fast as I possibly can, and only stop to breath after I've got my hands on a backpack and a long knife. I hear someone coming behind me, but I duck instead of strike out. Good thing too, because Trille sends a spear flying over my head and right into the chest of this nameless boy.

"Grab everything you can carry on your back and let's go!" she yells.

Tales come up on my right, and there's a small girl on my left. I think she's from eight. She's got her hands on some sort of pack when Tales spears her right then and there.

She didn't even try to make an offensive move, and now she's dead.

I back away slowly, my legs feeling like lead. The sunlight sends glares off the shiny leaves that surround this little plain, making it impossible for me to get a grip on things.

I feel Tales' hand on my arm and he's dragging me into the shiny leaves, right behind Trille, Prince's brother, and the girl from district two. I highly doubt that Noll, her district partner, will be joining our alliance. In fact, he'll probably be the cause of its end.

We run and run until we find a comfortable place where the river breaks into a small lake. There seems to be a natural dam built on one side out of rocks, but other than that, the blue lake is surrounded by the forest. There is nothing on the ground in the way of greenery. There are only the shiny leaves trees and dirt. I wonder what the other tributes will be eating tonight.

"Annie. Annie!" Tales shouts in front of my face. I feel as if I've just woken up from a long sleep.

"What?" I ask, taking a deep breath of the sweltering air.

"Don't you feel it?" Trille asks, perching on a rock to sort through her backpack.

As soon as she says it, I feel the throbbing in my arm. I look down and see that my tan shirt is soaked with blood on one side, a knife sticking out the top of my bicep.

Prince's brother throws a roll of gauze or something to Tales. "Hurry up and fix it, we're going hunting tonight."

**Sorry I didn't include much about the interviews, Annie's just a typical tribute who is expected to pass through and gain an unlucky fate, so I didn't think she would leave much of an impression on the crowd or anything. If I disappointed you, my apologies! **

**I thought the closet thing was pretty cute... :) What will happen to Finnick? Will Noll be hunting them that night instead? Will Tales try to kill Annie? Tune in for the next chapter! ...Sorry I've always wanted to do that... haha**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you guys so much for your kind reviews! Sorry it took forever, I've been at camp. I normally hate doing this, but I alternated between Finnick and Annie's point of view in this chapter. I'm sorry, I just thought it would be easier to include the stuff I wanted. I hope you like it!**

Chapter Eight- **Finnick**

I sincerely despise whoever came up with the idea of a liquid pain. Something they can just eject into your neck. It's clear, it doesn't do any permanent damage to your body, and it instantly makes you wish you were dead.

The pain isn't the worst, though. The worst is that it's untraceable. No one will ever see the tiny needle hole in my neck. No one heard me screaming.

I despise whoever came up with the idea of liquid pain, but they are clever, very clever.

I shudder as I remember the president's face inches from mine. "Do you know who they were, Finnick? They weren't just some random girls. I needed what they had to offer, you know."

"Sorry." I told him, not regretting my decision at all. I remembered my arm around Annie's little shoulders, the sweet smell of her hair. That's why I didn't beg.

"Sorry isn't good enough."

They stuck me with the needle, and then it was over from there. An hour of liquid pain can feel like an eternity. Only this time, it wasn't _me_ I was worried about.

I have no idea what Annie did to me, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. Right when the pain stopped, I almost allowed her name to escape my lips. Thankfully though, I came to my senses before they decided to make the games harder for her just to get to me.

As I look out to the city from my room in the Game Center, I rub my neck where the needle was. They moved us here last night, and the games will be starting any minute now. All of the mentors stay in a huge, arch-shaped building at night, but when the games start, they are all supposed to be down in the giant glass dome to sit in comfortable chairs and chat with people over a huge feast while their tributes die on a big screen.

I look at the glass bridge connecting the arch to the dome where a few stragglers hurry down to see their tributes. I expect Mags will be wondering where I am, but I can't bring myself to move. Maybe if I stay here a little longer, the Games won't start as soon.

I watch the sky change from purple to red, red to orange, and orange to yellow. Then, as if some internal alarm rang through my body, I realize I won't be doing Annie any good if I stay here all day. Mags can't do everything alone.

I quickly put on a shirt and pants and run down across the bridge and into the huge dome. Mags is waiting for me right beside the door, just as I thought.

"You overslept." She says, but I can tell she knows that something is wrong.

I just nod and glance up at the screen. It's dramatically showing over the dead bodies from the cornucopia before the hovercrafts rush in to take them. Claudius Templesmith is saying something about how the tributes are quick this year.

"What have I missed?" I whisper to Mags.

"Not much, I guess. Haymitch Abernathy spilled some soup all over Callie. She was furious." Mags says quietly as we walk through the dimly lit room. It has sort of a red glow to it, and I can't make out any of the real features of the Mentors. I see a big table of food laid out on one side, and we pass a door on my left where you go to submit gifts for your tribute. People stand around in groups and murmur to each other, and some sit alone in the big chairs and watch the games with intensity. "Tales and Annie are both alive, but Annie got stabbed in the shoulder."

"Is it bad?" I ask, starting to turn my watch over on my wrist.

"Tales seemed to know what he was doing when he bandaged it."

"Tales bandaged it?" I snap, angry with myself for not being here earlier to see every detail of this for myself.

"Relax, Finnick." Mags puts her cold hand on my wrist. "I don't think they give the tributes poisonous bandages."

"Right." I swallow, "Any sponsors?"

Mags shakes her head slowly and sits down in one of the soft red chairs. She holds up her little silver phone to show me that no sponsors have tried to contact us.

I try not to scowl as I plop down next to her and focus on the screen.

* * *

><p><strong>Annie<strong>

By sunset, not much has happened, but I feel like my heart has never slowed down since the moment in the cornucopia.

They want to go hunting in a few minutes, and they said I have to stay here and guard the food because I'm the weakest point. I think they are probably going to kill me soon if I don't do something completely wonderful. I can't help but wonder if Tales will agree with them so he doesn't have to worry about me anymore.

Prince's brother is dying to kill Noll so bad that he spends all afternoon spearing trees. Lindy, Noll's district partner, is quiet, but she's ready to get some blood on her hands too.

"Okay, let's go. He's probably far away right now, so we're going to have to move if we want to get some time." Trille says; throwing her bulky backpack into the hole we dug for our food. If another tribute tries to get it, we'll be able to kill them before they have the chance to get up. "I'll go first. Then you." She says, pointing to Prince's brother.

"I'll bring up the rear." Tales finishes putting a third knife in his belt.

Lindy puts a sheath of arrows over her shoulder and rocks on her heels impatiently. "Can we go already? This is torture."

"Annie," Trille turns to smiles and me crookedly. "Don't let anyone steal our stuff, or I'll kill you."

I nod and hold up my long knife, trying to appear confident. Tales gives me a weird look before they all take off running through the trees. Their footsteps are silent because there is no vegetation on the ground at all. I hope these games will be short because most of the tributes will probably be eating leaves for meals.

It's unusually quiet for a humid night. I can feel it slowly starting to get colder and breezier than before. I don't hear any sounds of bugs or animals in the woods.

I don't jump at all until I feel something on my leg, cold and fast moving. I clench my teeth as I look down and use the moonlight to see the largest spider I have ever seen in my life. It is at least three times bigger than my hand from what I could see. I try to shake it off, but it doesn't budge. I bite my lip and try not to scream as I slash at it with the knife. I think it just angers it though, because I feel its pinchers dig into my calf.

I stick my knife into it's body and try not to listen to the awful high-pitched sounds it makes as it dies on the ground in front of me. It must be something of the Capitol's creation, because I've never known a bug to be so big.

I'm breathing heavily as I slowly stick my leg into the water to try and sooth the bite. It doesn't do much of a difference though, because it's starting to go limp, overtaken by a burning sensation. I have to use my hands to lift my leg out of the water, and I can only crawl over to the rock I was sitting on before.

I glance down into the hole, just to see if I might be able to get the medicine pack, but I can't even see the stuff anymore. The only things I see in the hole are at least a dozen huge black spiders coming to the surface. I bite my lip so hard that blood comes flowing down my chin.

I curse myself because they can probably smell the blood. I am going to die on the very first day.

I try to hop away on my good leg, but I'm knocked over in seconds by something heavy. I feel the pinchers go into my back just as I scream for Tales.

* * *

><p><strong>Finnick<strong>

I slam my fist on the table of my bedroom. Mags sits on the couch, watching the television with an unreadable expression.

Mentors are only required to be in the dome until six, so Mags and I left as soon as we were allowed. I couldn't stand listening to all of those people make bets.

I watch Annie drag herself deeper into the forest screaming as the spider mutations attack her. I'm not sure what they will do to her, but I have a feeling she is dead if I don't get her an antidote soon.

Eventually the spiders leave, and she lies there helplessly, twitching.

Mags and I watch as the career tributes kill the girl from District Six. They don't find Noll, though.

After a while, Mags gives me a hug goodnight. "The cannon hasn't gone off yet." She says.

"I know." I say, but it's only a matter of time. "Goodnight, Mags."

I watch the Games closely for another hour or so. I keep waiting until Annie's cannon goes off, but it never does. Her skin is sinking in though, like she's aged a hundred years. Tales and the others find her, and they don't look surprised at all.

Tales actually looks relieved. If he wins, I make a mental note to punch him in the face.

Tales bends down and listens to her heart, "She's alive, but not for long."

"Let's leave her, we're going to have to move, anyways. We don't want to get attacked by whatever did this to her." Lindy says, crossing her arms.

"Let's check the food." Trille sighs, "Whatever did this probably ate our stuff."

I watch as they head back to their camp, and Claudius is saying something about how the careers rarely ever loose their food so quickly.

I jump when there's a knock on my door. I know who's probably there. I'm about to go mad, but I get up and answer it anyways. It will do me no good to visit President Snow again.

"Hello." I look at a girl about nineteen. My age.

"Hey, I have a secret?" She smiles.

I'm about to ask what, but then I remember Mags' words: _The cannon hasn't gone off yet. _

"No, no secrets please. I need money."

**Sorry if the point of views were confusing! Please review :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry about those confusing points of view, I just thought it would make for a really short chapter if I separated them. Anyways, I have an announcement. This might make you happy if you like long stories. This story was going to end a chapter after Annie's games, but I decided to continue the story up until Finnick goes with Katniss and the others to the Capitol. So, now you've got more of the story coming! **

**Thank you to all my reviewers, it makes me happy to know someone likes what I'm doing :) **

**I'll shut up now! **

Chapter nine- Annie

My world has become nothing more than a bright, blinding green light. I know my eyes are closed in the real world, but that world doesn't exist anymore. Only this one does.

The light burns my eyes. I long for a wide stretch of darkness that will last an eternity. Being blind is far better than this world. I want to close my eyes so all the green light goes away, but no one in this world hears me when I beg.

My eardrums, I'm sure, are about to burst. Accompanying the blinding light is a ringing so powerful that a thousand bells won't even compare. It's louder than anything I've ever heard. I want to run away from this noise, but I am frozen.

Just when I'm sure I might be allowed to die, I wake up to find myself shivering in a world of nothingness. Everything is white.

I lie on my back and let the cold seep into my skin. My clothes are soaked. I'm afraid to move in case the endless ringing comes back.

It's so quiet, it's scary. I don't even hear birds. I wonder for a second if I might be dead, but then dismiss the thought. If I were dead, than I wouldn't be thinking about why no has killed me yet. Maybe they thought the spider bite would.

I almost wish it did. I heard freezing to death takes a long time.

I lift my hand and place it on my chest, feeling the slow rise and fall. I don't know how many days have past, but apparently the gamemakers decided it was time for winter.

After a while, I decide to make myself move. I don't get very far before I vomit a pool of blood in the perfect white snow.

I only walk a little further before I decide to just stop. I have no weapons, no food, and no allies. I could try going back to the careers, but it's probably a bad idea. I don't even know if Tales is alive. Surely the careers would kill me now. I'm no more than skin and bones.

I am about to lay down again and wait to die, but something catches my eye. It's a shiny silver parachute, floating down just to my right. I look around to make sure that it doesn't belong to anyone else.

"Finnick," I mumble, "you're and idiot if you think I still have a chance."

I untie the brown jacket from the parachute quickly, suddenly scared that someone might take it away. I reach inside the pockets to find a few slices of bread, still warm from the oven.

Instead of sitting down, I keep walking, now at a brisk pace. With the jacket also came a message. I was lucky enough to survive the spider bites, so I better count my blessings and try to stay alive. Finnick might come in here and kill me himself if I just give up.

I stop and eat some snow to hydrate myself as best I can, and I can only hope I won't be poisoned.

I nibble on one of the pieces of bread as I look for a place to hide. The ground offers almost no coverage, so I decide to climb a tree for the night. I can watch the screen to see if there are any deaths. The games might even be further along than I thought.

I struggle to climb the tree's slippery trunk with my weak arms and legs. I can barely hold my own weight. A quick look at my calf and shoulders tell me that the spider's torture is not over. There are now huge black lumps sticking out from my sunken gray skin.

I try not to focus on the pain as I force myself higher an higher into the tree. If there's one thing my small body is good for, it's being able to sit on the thin branches.

I'm almost comfortable when I hear a huge boom in the distance. Before I can stop myself, I scream shrilly. It echoes off the trees.

I bet finnick is beside himself. He's probably never seen a tribute scream at the sound of the cannon.

* * *

><p>No one comes to kill me. I stay in the tree for two days, watching the weather change rapidly. After the snow comes the rain and the flowers, and then comes the heat. It's like a cycle, I suppose, I season for every day.<p>

I never ever sleep, because the spiders might come. I am afraid of the bright green world and the loud ringing bell.

The only reason I get down from the tree is because something is wrong. The birds have stopped singing, and the trees stop swaying in the breeze.

I barely have my feet on the ground before my whole body is shoved into the dirt by a violent shaking. It's like a huge wave rolled under the ground. I hear a scream in the distance.

I grip the tree trunk and bite through my lip again. The ground keeps shaking like chattering teeth, and I listen to the agonizing screams that fill the air. I wish a cannon would sound already so this person will be put out of their pain.

I can't help wonder if this is possibly Lindy or Trille.

* * *

><p>It's fall now. I move through the trees as quietly as possible, looking for a river or something to drink from. I'm lightheaded and I can barely see, but at least I'm alive.<p>

I should have somehow saved the snow, because it was stupid to think I could go three days without water, especially after summer.

I think I can hear a river up ahead, and I'm about to take off running to it when I hear footsteps. My heart immediately starts pounding as I scamper up a tree as best I can, scraping my hands and face badly. I put one hand over my mouth to hold back a scream when I see who it is that enters line of sight.

It's my best friend. Only, I barely recognize him. His face is a sickly green color, and he is missing a hand. His clothes have so much blood on them that it probably weighs him down.

I watch as he backs up against a tree, sinking down against the waxy trunk. He seems to realize his body can't take it anymore. I want to call out to him, but I don't let myself. I chew my ragged upper lip and wait, because he wouldn't be running away that fast unless something was chasing him.

Right on cue, the surely boy from district seven enters my vision with barely a scratch on him. "you thought your little fishing nets could hold me, did you?" he snarls at Tales.

I watch as Tales struggles to his feet, reaching for a knife in his belt.

"Sorry, Four. You're done." the boy right under my tree wets his lips carefully before he throws his huge axe, right at Tales' throat.

I rake my nails down the sides of my face as Tales' head comes completely off his shoulders. I wouldn't even be able to scream if I tried to. I'm choking. I can't even breath as the boy takes his ax and runs away without a backward glance.

I try to grab hold of the tree, but my bloody fingers slip and I fall onto my back.

It's so easy. It's so easy to talk about death. Talking is nothing compared to seeing your best friend die right in front of you.

A few weeks ago, he was just the boy that ate dinner over at my house because we loved his stories he made up for my little brothers. He actually made my parents smile. Not even I could do that after Mae died.

A few weeks ago, he held my hand before the reaping and told me he would win.

It's gone. It's all gone. The Hunger Games took the only two people I was ever closed to.

I want to die. I want to die. I want to go live with Mae and Tales and be far away from here.

Eventually I leave the clearing because the hovercraft needs to take his body. I take the knife that he dropped and leave as quickly as possible without falling over.

My sobs echo through the woods. Im practically screaming. No one comes to kill me, though. It's almost funny. I'd be so easy.

When it gets dark, I find myself laying at the bottom of a tree, very far away from the river. My body won't produce anymore tears because it's so dehydrated. It's almost a winter morning when I start to sing the song Mae and I used to sing as kids. Something about a flower growing at the bottom of a well. It fits on my tongue easily. It's much softer than a scream.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, please leave a comment? :)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Yeah, the story is starting to get a little darker. I'm sorry, but it's necessary. We get to see a little of Finnick's past in this one. Thank you everyone for your reviews and kind words. **

**For my readers that haven't been reviewing, just know that I don't ask for them because I just like to have a lot. They actually really help me and inspire me to put out new chapters sooner. If you could, just leave a comment and tell me that I'm at least holding your interest? **

**Thanks and I hope you like this one.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Ten- Finnick<p>

I've grown too used to the deaths by stabbing and cutting. I only expect the really graphic stuff from mutts. Seeing Tales die was a real shock to me. It wasn't the blood, but just because I assumed he'd make it down to at least the final five easily. Guys like him usually don't stop running when it comes to those woodland chases.

I imagine the Capitol's screams and hoots at the blood. They are probably throwing money and liquor around like there's no tomorrow. There hasn't been a show that good since my Hunger Games, I bet.

I look away when the mentor from Seven yells, "Yeah, that's right! I knew we'd have a Victor on our hands!"

Mags pats me on the shoulder as I watch Annie fall out of the tree, blood oozing from the nail marks on her face. Her lip is covered in dried blood from all her biting. The only thing I say to Mags is, "She'll kill herself before the Games are over."

Mags says, "She knows the rules."

I shake my head. "Mags, I think our time of faith in her has ended."

The Seven Victor yells at the big screen for the boy to come back for Annie. I wince.

"She's almost in the final eight." Mags says before walking back to her chair to sit. She's more tired than usual lately, probably just because of stress.

I sit next to Mags and wait for Annie to get up and move before the boy really does come back; she's smarter than that, I know she is. However, she isn't showing it by the way she wobbles through the forest screaming her head off. I rake my finger through my hair and sweat through my thin shirt.

Haymitch Abernathy plops down next to me as he points at the screen with his wine glass, "I think she's lost it, Mate."

It's before six, but I get up and leave anyway. I wonder through the dome until I feel a cold hand on my shoulder. It reminds me of Annie's the night before the Games.

I hate myself for getting attached to her. I hate myself for being intrigued by her difference in attitude and thought.

I hate myself for thinking she could win.

I turn around and see a girl with yellow cheeks and red tattoos on her arms. I sigh. "Do you want to go somewhere a little more private?"

I do it because I'm stupid. I do it because even though I know it's not possible, I want to help her.

When the girl is buttoning her silky shirt back up over her fake chest, I ask for money. She gladly hands it over, but only after bringing me in for a few more kisses. I keep the money in my hand the whole time. I'm reluctant to even leave it on the sink while I shower.

Right when I get out of the shower, I turn on the Hunger Games. I don't want to see Annie with the far off look and the screams of pain, but I can't resist. I have to know if she's okay.

I stroke the money in my palm as I watch the Games with intensity. I almost fall to pieces when I hear a cannon and think it's her. But then, right when I'm about to throw an expensive vase across the room, the screen flashes to a girl laying at the bottom of a tree shivering, but using a thick brown jacket as a pillow. I can't understand the melody that comes out of her mouth because her lip is too swollen.

I just know she is singing something sad.

Mags enters my room without knocking, and I don't look up from the screen. I listen to Claudius as he says, "And here's Annie Cresta of District Four, just another example of what happens when people try to hold on to friends in the arena. I guess they'll never learn. Now, let's take a look and Noll Smith, from District Two…"

Without glancing at Mags, I go over and shove the T.V. off the dresser. When it still doesn't break, I throw it against the wall, creating a huge hole. Then I leave the room in search of another tattooed girl.

The sun is almost setting when I return. My body aches, but I concentrate on the huge pile of cash in my hand. I check the floor on my way back to make sure I didn't drop any.

Mags is sitting on my bed, staring out the window. "I didn't know you'd be so long."

I hold out the money. "Look, we can send her more bread, and maybe a bottle or something for her to keep the snow in. I was thinking about a jacket that will blend better with the trees-"

"Finnick." Mags says gently.

"Or do you think I should send her something for her cuts? Bandages? Do you think the spider bites are still hurting? Maybe I could-"

"Finnick, stop."

I stare at her for a long time. She doesn't break her gaze. It's me who drops to the floor in a heap, sobbing. My body can produce tears because I have water to drink.

Mags comes over and sits on the floor, pulling me to her.

Suddenly I feel like the boy on his sixteenth birthday again.

I was on the beach kicking rocks in rage, and she followed me down there. I wiped my eyes furiously, trying to look strong. I was only a kid. I remember thinking that it must have been a mistake. I didn't do anything wrong.

I thought Mags was crazy until that day. I never took anything she said seriously until she said, "They told you, didn't they?"

I didn't say anything. I just stared. Yes, that morning I had received the call from Snow telling me that he had a great life ahead for me. He asked me if I wanted to be special. He asked me if I wanted to become an orphan.

He told me that I'm a grown up.

He told me I could handle this.

"I know." She said, hobbling up on the rock until she was only a foot away. "I know."

Mags always knows.

Mags knows that at almost twenty years old, I'm not a grown-up at all.

In the morning, Mags pries the money out of my hands and tells me to take a shower. I can't bear to look at my own body anymore.

When it's time to leave, I take the money back and squeeze it tightly. When we get to the dimly lit red room, I head straight to the left door and punch in the code for bread. I shove the money through the receiver and then I'm watching the screen as a parachute lands right next to Annie's face.

She doesn't mention anything about me this time. I'm almost afraid she doesn't remember. Mags squeezes my hand.

"I'm not hungry." Annie says to no one in particular.

The whole day of winter, she lets the bread go cold and untouched as she wonders through the forest. She doesn't even put it in her pocket to keep the snow from making it soggy.

For spring and summer, I watch the games from my room. No one yells at me, as long as I take the girls when they come. I leave a pile of cash right next to my nightstand, just in case.

I watch Annie nibble on a piece of bread during the fall, and then puke it back up.

I watch as she sleeps in a tree.

I watch as she tried to run from the earthquakes.

There are seven tributes left when I go back to the dome during the winter. Noll just killed Lindy. It's a normal Game day, until I notice that something is wrong when Claudius stops talking during an earthquake.

I barely have time to register what's going on before the room erupts in chaos. The cameras are filled with water, and some sort of alarm goes off.

The mentors run into the left door and furiously punch in codes, looking for something orange.

"What's going on?" I ask Mags.

"Floatation devices."

Haymitch laughs cynically. "The arena is flooded." He raises his glass at me. "There might not be a Victor this time, eh?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Awww, you guys are so good to me :) Thank you so much for your awesome reviews! I tried to update yesterday, but my dad thinks I spend too much time on the computer.. Anyways, this chapter could be a little more fast-paced and disconnected because I thought that's how Annie's thoughts would be. Who knows, I've never been.. Well, like her before. **

Chapter Eleven- Annie

I don't know where I am. Suddenly I'm choking, gasping for air. I recognize the sting in my eyes as salt water. I can hardly bring my arms to pull myself up to the surface of this ocean.

I wonder for a second if this is a dream. Or maybe, I'm almost home. I just have to keep swimming until I see District Four rising up out of the horizon. Then the Peacekeeper's will see me and bring me back home. I'll probably get in trouble for swimming this far out though.

I hear screaming in the distance. I scream too, because I don't like the sound of it. I don't want to hear it. I makes my ears hurt, but if I cover them, then I can't swim back to my house. My dad might be worried because it's almost time for dinner.

It's dark. Something floats by me in the water as I drift along, too tired to keep swimming. I settle for an easy tread until the water starts tasting of blood. I accidentally swallow some, and then I have to swim away from the puke.

The water is freezing. It's never been so cold in District Four. My fingers turn blue, and I can only move in slow motion. I wish that the Peacekeeper's would just come get me already, no punishment for straying out too far is worse than this.

"Help me!" I call out into the nothingness, my breath forming a cloud in the air. "Please, help me!"

There is no response, just as I expected. I wonder if my parents are looking for me.

I'm about to call out again when the sky lights up. I see faces of children in the sky. District Two. District Eight. District One.

My chest splits in two, and the wind is knocked out of me.

Of course this isn't District Four, because I remember seeing Tales' face in the sky a few days ago. He wasn't smiling, and that upset me. I wanted to see his smile one more time.

Someone is wailing again, and I can't see whom. The sound is close though. I look around frantically, trying to decide who is going to kill me. It's probably Noll. He promised he would. But the memory seems so far away. I don't even know if he's alive. Will it be harder for a huge guy to stay afloat? Will he be able to tread with a weapon in hand?

I look around again, just to see if the screaming is coming from him. It takes me much long than it should to realize the horrid sound was escaping _my_ blue lips. Something of a sob and scream mixture.

I bite my tongue and keep swimming in no particular direction.

"Swim." I whisper to myself when I begin to get tired. "Swim."

It becomes something of a rhythm. Every two strokes, I tell myself to keep going. This lasts until the water starts to grow warm, and waves start to toss me around like the doll Mae brought in the boat with Dad.

I hear three cannon shots, and they hurt my ears. I try to stay on top of the waves, but I just can't. My body hits hard things, and I can't swim to the surface. I swallow too much water trying to spit out the blood. Eventually, I just give up.

I'm starting to see brightly lit colors as my body slowly rises to the surface. There are no more waves. It's sunny. I hear a man's voice saying my name, but I don't pay attention. My coughing is too loud. I'm in the middle of trying to get the dirt out of my throat when something grabs my back. Immediately, I start to thrash and kick, knowing I won't give in as easily as I did to the ocean. At least with a human, I can fight.

I try to spit the blood at them, since that seems to be my only good defensive mechanism. But it just drops below, because I am flying. When I drop back down, I'll die. I'll smack the water too hard.

"Would you like a drink, Miss Cresta?" Some girl thrusts a glass into my hand. The room isn't dark blue like the water; it's all white. Everything. It reminds me of the green world I was in. I throw the glass on the ground and run to the wall, beating it with my fists.

"Let me out! Help me!" I scream, wanting to leave before the ringing comes. There are clean people coming and grabbing me. They are going to kill me. I hit one of them in the face and drop to my knees on the ground, banging the floor. "Help me! Help me! Somebody help! Tales! Tales! TALES!"

I throw myself at the wall, trying to get away from the people who keep reaching for me. They whisper, and the hiss of it makes me cringe. I just end up crouching down against the wall and covering my ears, still screaming for help. I wonder why no one has the heart to rescue me, or at least just kill me.

When the strange people leave me, I collapse. Pressing my cheek on the clean white ground. I watch as someone's feet step toward me slowly. My voice won't work anymore.

"Annie?"

I force my head to look up. My wet hair makes tracks on the shiny floor.

The person crouches to the ground next to me, and squints with their bright eyes. "Annie?" They say softly, like the wind.

Suddenly I am burying my face in his shirt. He is getting all wet and bloody, but he strokes my hair and lets me sob into him. He doesn't make the harsh whispers and he doesn't try to give me glass cups or shove cameras into my face.

"I know." He says, rubbing circles on my back. "I know. You're safe, Annie. Do you know that?"

He doesn't expect answers. He just keeps telling me that I'm safe. He whispers in my ear that he won't let me get hurt.

The last person I would expect to care about me after all this is Finnick, but I guess I'm wrong. If this were anyone else, I wouldn't have let them touch me.

* * *

><p>I swallow a huge lump and try not to mess up the make-up anymore that I already have. I'm sure I'm cutting off the circulation in his hand. "Please, please don't make me. I'll do anything." I plead desperately.<p>

He widens his eyes. This is the first time I've spoken a civilized word to him since I won. He had to explain to me almost a dozen times that I wasn't still in the games.

"I'm sorry. I know. Just get through this and…"

He trails off. I close my eyes and cover my ears. I don't want any more people to make me watch kids die and listen to their pain.

Finnick puts his hands over mine and slowly removes them from my ears. I shake my head and try not to cry. I can't do it. I might die onstage.

"I'm crazy." I whisper to him with my fake red lips. "They are right. Everyone is right. Please, just let me go home."

I almost drop to the ground but he catches me by the elbows and holds me up. "I'll get you out of here, Annie, I swear. You just have to do this. Just close your eyes when it gets too…"

I shake my head. "No, I can't. I can't, I can't, I can't."

He holds me gently, barely touching me, and lights rubs my back the way he did in the hovercraft. "I promise that no one will hurt you. You're not crazy, they are."

* * *

><p><strong>Gosh, I love Finnick. Thanks for reading <strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Alright, so this isn't what I'd planned, but it just sort of came out. I assumed that it's a good sign and continued with this. Hopefully you guys enjoy it, or it might make you cry. I don't know. School is busy, but I'll try to update ASAP. Thank you all for reviewing and please don't forget to tell me what you think about this. **

* * *

><p>Chapter Twelve- Finnick<p>

I forgot how much I hate going to sleep. You can escape for a whole night, but in the morning, everything hits you again. I lay in bed for a second, looking at the sun coming in through the thin blue curtains and watching the wind softly blow the sand and dust on my windowsill.

I'm about to get up when I remember why I've been sleeping for almost an entire twenty-four hours in the first place.

_The Victor's laugher sounded like grinding and screeching in my ears. _

_ "It's ridiculous." Callie folded her arms across her chest and scowled. "I won't be able to handle this. I just won't do it." _

_ "It's only been a few days." I whispered, remembering how loud they were the last time they stood in the hallway discussing secret things with a boy who is now dead. _

_ "I can just see where this is going already!" She threw her hands in the air. _

_ Brock grumbled and folded a piece of paper a few times. "She's right, Annie is going to have to come back. She didn't even kill anyone, so she's going to have to get over this." _

_ "It was still the Games!" I whispered harshly. _

_Edison stuck his pointer finger at me, jabbing me in the chest. "She's completely insane over absolutely nothing. She has no blood on her hands, and she's young and pretty. She's going to ruin this for all of us if she doesn't come back." _

I remember the taste in my mouth when Edison called her pretty. I thought of President Snow making her do the same thing I have to do. He would probably have to hold her family's life over her head.

_"If she's not acting civil by the victory tour, I'll go insane myself! Who does she think she is anyway? She has no right to be acting like the rest of us when she didn't do anything to win!" Callie stomped her foot on the hard wood floor of the train angrily. _

Everyone wanted a Victor who could be considered brave.

I remember Annie when they replayed the Games for her. She ended up curled in a ball screaming.

_"Ridiculous." _

_ "We all killed." _

_ "She's coming back next year." _

I roll over in bed and think of Annie's face when we turned and saw her at the end of the hall.

_She looked so small and helpless, fists in balls by her side. Everyone was silent, and I'm sure I looked horrified. Her mouth hung silently open, and her eyes were somewhere very far away. _

_ She turned around slowly and just walked away like she had just been slapped in the face. I turned and glared at Callie. _

_ "She should have expected this, Finnick. Don't give me that look." _

I tried to talk to Annie, but she wouldn't let me in anymore. If I tried to touch her, even to help her when she stumbled, she pushed me away. Her family lives right across the street from us now, but she never comes out. Her younger brothers play on the front lawn, but every time I try to check up on Annie, her mom tells me that she's asleep.

She's probably already figured out that sleep is the best escape, you just can't wake up or it will ruin it.

I drag myself out of bed and peek into my mom's room. She's sitting in bed, her frail arms holding a book. She smiles her yellow tooth smile at me. "Hey, Mom."

"Finnick, can you maybe go into town and get some more of this?" She holds up a bottle of white liquor and swishes it in little circles that slosh up and down the sides of the bottle.

"Maybe later." I wave it off. I don't want to go into town and have people ask me about Crazy Annie. That's what they call her.

My mom has been drinking since forever. She wasn't that bad when I was younger because we couldn't afford it with my dad's fishermen job. But now, since we have money to burn, she spends her days like this. Fascinated with Capitol luxuries, she drinks her alcohol, occasionally uses morphling for her "headaches", and paints her nails and face. She was thrilled when I won.

I spent a lot of time wondering what my father would have said about my Victory, but he probably would have been disappointed in the end. I've turned his wife into a Capitol wannabe and his only son into a male prostitute.

He never needed anything, just the sound of the waves and the open sea. At least that's what he always told me. He also said that he was never afraid of the water, that the water was afraid of him. It used to make me laugh, the jokes he would spat out in serious times. I guess that's where I get my desperate need to constantly lighten the mood. I don't think he was scared when he drowned at sea.

I remember how I felt when he died. I remember when I thought that was the worst feeling in the world. It's now nothing but a numb memory compared to some of things that came later. President Snow's phone call. The first time I spent the night with someone. Seeing Annie fall to pieces in front of everyone.

It's probably a good thing my father is dead, because he doesn't have to see me now. I've stopped caring if my mom ruins herself, because I don't have the strength to stop her.

"Well do you have anything else to do?"

"I'm going to see Annie."

"She doesn't want to see you."

* * *

><p>It's my ninth day of ringing Annie's doorbell. Her mom lets me come in this time instead of stepping outside, which I take as a good sign.<p>

Their house looks exactly like mine, except it looks lived in. There are pencils and paper on the little kitchen table where her brothers were drawing, and it smelled like some kind of stew was cooking. The back doors hung open, letting the soft fall wind blow into the house. I almost gasp. It's so perfect. It's something I would associate with some version of heaven.

"I'm tired of her telling me to not let anyone in. When do you think she's going to snap out of it?" Her mom whispers to me like I'm and adult and I would know. My stomach turns.

The career districts are all the same. They are angry, not sad or broken or sympathetic. They want answers and death, and they don't understand. I wonder how people like Mags and I belong here. We should be in another district where people pity the Victors instead of being jealous of them. Somewhere like twelve or seven or nine where they no that no one's life is easy unless you live in the Capitol.

I don't want to snap at Annie's mother, so I just nod my head like I agree. "I don't know."

"Were you like this?"

I wasn't like Annie. At first, I was thrilled. It just took a month for me to realize the money would destroy my mom, and the fame would destroy me. I tried not to show it though, because that's how everyone in Four acted. _I am a Victor, so nothing is wrong._

Annie is different. I knew that, though. She really doesn't hide anything, crazy or not.

"Yes, I was. It will go away."

Her mom nods and stirs a pot on the stove. "Her room is down the hall. Try to get her back to normal." She says it like she actually believes I will. In one day. At all.

Everyone in the Career Districts is _exactly_ the same.

I walk down the hall to a closed door and knock on it softly. When she doesn't answer, I just go in. The smell hits me hard. I almost want to back up, but I don't.

It doesn't smell sweaty, but more like stale. Old. It's like a desert in her room, but she's tucked under many blankets and covers.

I look around at her room, painted the same pale blue as mine. There are a lot of different types of flowers sitting in vases on her dresser, and I wonder if it's to cover the smell. On her wall are messy drawings that her brothers made her and hung there. It's the Hunger Games. They think the Hunger Games are cool.

"What do you want, Finnick?"

I jump back. She glares at me from under all of her blankets, only her eyes peeking out. "I've been trying to see you."

"Yeah, I know that."

"So why didn't you let me?" I'm doing this wrong, I know. But Annie is still Annie. She has a funny way of making my blood pressure rise.

"You think I'm insane."

"I never said that."

She rolls over and looks at her ceiling. I look up too. There is little yellow hand painted stars over her bed. "Who painted those?"

"I did."

"Why?" I ask, coming closer and sitting on the edge of her bed, noticing her greasy hair sticking out on her pillow.

"My mom and dad think I'm crazy, you know."

"They don't understand."

"Do _you_ understand, Finnick?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to make sure you didn't fall off the face of the earth."

She rolls her eyes and tucks her hair under the covers when she notices I was looking at it. "I'm Crazy Annie."

I sigh. "Do you remember anything I told you at the Capitol?"

"I remember everything you told me. It doesn't mean you were right. Brock and Callie and Eddison are right."

I get up and walk to the window, throwing back the white curtains and opening it up as wide as it will go. Annie flinches and sinks into the covers even more.

"You have to be burning up under there." I feel the sweat on her forehead with the back of my hand.

"I'm fine." She says, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. "Just get out, Finnick."

"Annie," I whisper, going closer again and feeling paranoid that I blew my only chance as seeing her by getting frustrated. "What did I say?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired. I want to sleep." She says like a little girl. The calm composure she had before is gone, and her sarcastic attitude has completely vanished.

"Annie-"

She jumps upright in her bed and glares at me, tears running down her cheeks. My eyes widen in shock. Her arms. Her chest. Her face. She is covered in cuts. I wonder why they have money for bandages and medicine but she has none. Her parents probably don't even know.

She realizes what she just did and she lets out a small cry before trying to cover up frantically in her tangled blankets. "Just get out. Just leave me alone." She commands in a shaky voice.

I crawl across her bed and sit right next to her, doing exactly the opposite of what she said. She doesn't move; she just keeps staring at where I was standing before. She doesn't pull away when I take her arm and examine the damage. There are lines running all the way from her shoulders to her wrists. I run my fingers lightly down the parts of skin that are unharmed, giving her goose bumps. I wonder if she even knows what she's doing when she makes these lines.

I should have just come up anyway, even when her mom told me not to. I wasted nine days just sitting at home and in Mags' kitchen.

I wipe off her tears gently with my thumb, being careful to barely touch her so I don't hurt the cuts.

After a while, she stops staring into space and looks back at me. "I'm tired." She says quietly before leaning into my shoulder and collapsing like on the hovercraft.

She still cries, even when she's asleep. I comb my fingers through her hair and undo the knots. I realize that this is the same hair do that she had when she came home.

Annie is afraid of water.

When I'm sure she is in a deep enough sleep, I slowly untangle myself from her arms and put her head under a pillow. Before I leave her room though, I search everywhere. When I finally find the knife, I slip it in my pocket and go to Mags' house to ask a favor.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all for reading. Question: What do you think of the "career district" thing? Do you think I'm on the right track with that or not? My mind just comes up with random stuff sometimes, but I thought this could work? <strong>

**I wrote a one-shot about Gale and Katniss's friendship, called "Remember Me When I'm Gone". Since you guys are Hunger Games fans, you should check it out if you want to :) **


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, promise. I've just been dealing with stupid life. You want some advice? Don't trust people, because you will only get hurt in the end. **

**Well, there's my words of wisdom for the day. If only real life had people like Finnick. This chapter makes my heart ache :/ I promise that the next few chapters will be more fast-paced and better written probably, just these ones needed to be slow and hesitant like their relationship at this point. I hope you like it, guys! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers :) I hope you continue to leave comments, it really makes my day. **

***End of ramble* **

Chapter Thirteen- Finnick

Today is the first day Annie decided to leave her room since the Hunger Games ended. Her mother is completely convinced it's because I paid her a visit yesterday. I beg to differ, but I find it hard to contradict her mother's bubbly voice on the other end of the phone. I'm afraid to get my hopes up that today might be a good day though.

Annie's mom insists that I come over and talk to her while she's out of bed. I practically fall down the steps as I put on a shirt and run toward the door. I slide on the floor in my socks and my hand is on the knob of the door before I freeze dead in my tracks. A loud cackling comes from the kitchen to my right.

"Where to, Finnick, My Dear?" I hear the raspy voice of my mom's best friend.

I slowly turn around and force a smile. "Adalaide. Always a _pleasure_." I spit on the last word.

"You're going to see Annie Cresta, aren't you?"

I lean against the wall and try to look casual in my own house. The truth is, though, I'm hardly casual anywhere unless Mags is beside me. "What's it to you?"

My mom howls with laughter. It's ten in the morning and she's already had more than enough drinks for the day. "Finnick, you'll give yourself a bad reputation."

I rub my temples with my hand and sigh. "She's a Victor, I'm a Victor. We should get to know each other."

"Oh c'mon! It's obvious, isn't it? Isn't it?" Adalaide nudges my mom in the ribs and grins a pearly white smile at me. "He wants a girlfriend back home! Make the others at the Capitol jealous!" She points a cigarette at me and purses her lips. "You're cute, Fin."

"Don't call me Fin." I glare at her and push the cigarette away. "I'm leaving now."

"Did you make sure Annie takes some of those pills? You know we wouldn't want an accident." Adalaide smirks, knowing how she can taunt me into a fit. I might hate her more than President Snow at times. She's vile and selfish and- "Don't look at me like that!"

"You're not the boss of me." I stammer out. I'm a nineteen-year-old baby.

She shrugs, but I catch the gleam in her eye. "Alright, Big Boy. Have fun with Crazy!" She laughs and pushes one of our glasses off the table, scattering bits of glass all over the dusty floor. "Whoops, let me get that!" She bends over and starts picking up the glass bit by bit with her hands and "accidentally" dropping it again. She makes sure to adjust her low shirt just slightly, so that almost her whole chest it exposed.

My stomach tightens and I grip the doorknob.

It takes everything inside me to walk away from my house instead of screaming at her. I almost killed her once. Adalaide is good at getting out of things. I've hated her my whole life, and my dad agreed with me once. We were fishing, and he told me he hated how she brought out the worst in my mom. She brings out the worst in everyone. Especially me.

I know that despite her dislike toward Annie, she's excited for the victory tour. She likes when the Capitol people come and she can flirt around. Her being the Mayor's wife, she fits right in. Her charisma is nothing more than sheer manipulation.

She forced herself on me once, when I was only fifteen. We didn't go as far as I have to now, but it was far enough. My mother's best friend. Practically another dumber, and brattier mother. It was so wrong. She told me that if I ever told anyone, she would tell everyone I was the father of her child, which was completely impossible.

I doubted she knew who the real father was though.

I hate her.

"Finnick! That was fast!" Mrs. Cresta swings the door open to their home. I had been so distracted that I walked right to Annie's door without even thinking of what I'm going to say to her.

"Er, yeah." I give a small smile.

"Well come on in! Would you like any breakfast?" As we walk in, she gestures to the kitchen where a batch of pancakes is sitting on the table. "We decided to try something we've never had! They all loved it, naturally. It was real flour." She smiles proudly.

"Did Annie eat?"

"Well, not really. I was hoping maybe you…" She trails of and nods to where a frail girl sits next to dad on the couch, blankly staring at the television.

"I'll try." I attempt a reassuring smile, but I think it comes across as an awkward sort of frown.

All the memories of Adalaide and her manipulation get pushed from my mind as Annie looks up at me with her bright green eyes. Her skin is so pale you can see spots where her veins are, and her dark hair looks wildly out of place.

"I came downstairs, Finnick."

"It's about time!" One of her brothers comes in from outside, carrying a few muddy sticks. Mrs. Cresta doesn't say anything, and Mr. Cresta doesn't even look up from his book.

"That's great, Annie. That's wonderful." I choke out. My heartbeat thrums in my ears. Annie is going to turn out like me. No one cares about her, and if I don't do something quickly, she will become another Finnick Odair. Her family is exactly like my mother.

I slowly walk toward her and grab her hand, rubbing circles on it and glancing at her family to see if they have any reaction. Her dad still hasn't moved, and her mom shaking her head.

"Get those out of the house! They're dirty!"

"But we're playing Hunger Games!" The boy whines. His pouting face reminds me of Annie.

"The Hunger Games is outside, Cabe."

"Fine!" He stomps away, making tracks on the already stained carpet. He can't be more than six, and he's already playing Hunger Games.

I turn back to Annie, trying to hide my disgust. "Did you sleep well?"

Before Annie talks, her mother cuts in. "She was screaming again. It was horrible. Kept everyone up half the night, it did." She exhales loudly and puts her hands on top of her curl head of hair.

Annie puts her head down and lets her dirty hair hang in her eyes. I instinctively brush it away, wanting to know every emotion that she's feeling so I can take it away.

"How can you touch that?" Her mom looks at me, wide eyed.

"Wha-"

""My hair." Annie whispers.

"Do you know how long it's been since you had a bath, Annie?" Her mom looks at me instead of her daughter.

"Eleven days, two hours, and six minutes." She stares into space and recites this as if it's obvious and everyone should know.

Her mom's eyes instantly swell up with tears, and she runs from the room. Her dad finally looks up from his stupid book to glare at Annie before following her Mrs. Cresta up the steps.

"What did I say?"

"How long has been since the Games, Annie?" I blurt out before I can stop myself.

"Seventeen days, eight hours, and…." She pauses for a second, resting her first finger on her chin. "Twenty three minutes."

This frightens me. I almost want to leave, or tell her to just shut up, but I bite my tongue. "Good job Annie. You're good at math."

"Well duh. Haven't I ever told you that?"

"You forgot to mention it." I whisper before clearing my throat.

"Sorry, I'm forgetful sometimes." She leans her head on my shoulder. "Mom will only be mad at me for a few hours."

"Oh." I say, hesitantly putting my arms around her shoulders. I can feel the bones move as she shifts her weight. "When did you last eat?"

"Six days, four hours, and fifty six minutes."

"I've always wondered how Mags did it."

"Did what?"

"Well you see; she has a magic gift. She always seems to know exactly the right fish to choose at the market."

"Oh." Annie closes her eyes, but I nudge her.

"Don't fall asleep on me! I need your opinion on this. How is it that someone who hasn't been out on the open sea for over sixty years knows how to pick the best looking fish? She even remembers how to prepare them perfectly. She doesn't loose any meat when she takes out the bone."

"Hmm."

"Isn't that crazy? And don't even get me started on the taste. It's wonderful. The Capitol's food tastes like _sand_ compared to this! For eighty something, she can seriously maneuver around the kitchen like a pro."

"Eighty?"

"Yes, isn't that insane?"

"She's strong."

"Either that or she just likes to show me up. Anything I can cook, she can cook better. She's making her famous Cod tonight. That's the best."

"Why are you telling me this, Finnick?" She asks the question so innocently.

"Well, since somebody was feeling well enough to get out of bed this morning, I thought maybe you'd like it if we came and ate with you tonight. You could try Mags' fish." I rub her ice-cold hands in between mine.

"You guys think I'm crazy."

I laugh out loud, breaking the dead silence in the living room. "No we don't. We are your friends."

Annie pulls away and moves to the other side of the couch, rubbing the four long scabs on her cheek with the same fingers that made them. "You used to hate me!" I watch her eyes meet mine again and almost hear the click of her mind when she comes back to real life.

"Did not." I shrug.

"Then why did you used to laugh at me all the time?"

"You're the one who used to make jokes about all those dumb girls." I smile teasingly, though I'm secretly worried that she could fall apart at any second.

"That was before. I know you don't like them, remember?"

"You remember that?"

"I remember everything. I just told you exactly how long it's been since I got out of the Games." She pushes her hair out of her face, only to have it fall right back in the way.

"True, I'll give you that much."

"Just that much? I won for crying out loud!" She jumps up and puts her hands on her hips, suddenly furious.

"Annie, I was kidding! I'm sorry!" I say, panicking.

"No you aren't, Finnick." She glares at me, her eyes filling with tears just like her mom.

I get up and reach out to her without making contact. "I promise I was. You did a great job. I'm proud of you. Just like I'm proud that you got up today. You keep doing great things."

"No I don't!" She picks up a pillow and throws it across the room, knocking over a lamp and several books. "I don't do anything great! Look at me!" She shrieks, pulling on her long hair. "Look at this!"

She drops to her knees and covers her face with her hands. When her knuckles turn white, I realize what she is about to do and yank her arms away from her face. "Let go of me!"

"I promised you I wouldn't do that, remember?" I say calmly, although my hands are shaking. I don't know what to do. No one was there when I got like this. Not even Mags. I always made sure I was alone so no one had to see.

At least Annie can face people.

"I hate you! I hate you! Why are you okay?" She demands, trying to yank her arms free.

"I'm going to let you go now, but don't fall back and hit your head on the table." I tell her.

I release her arms, and she falls in a crumble on the floor, barely missing the table. "Why are you okay?" She says, over and over.

After a minute of deciding what to do, I sit down next her and pull her up on my lap, hugging her tightly. "You're okay too. If you really had a perfect memory, you'd remember when I told you that."

"I remember." She whispers after a long time. "But I don't believe you."

"You should. If my memory serves me as well as yours, I think you taught me a little lesson about being honest."


	14. Chapter 14

**Um, I'm kind of embarrassed about this one because I had no time to edit.. If there are mistakes... Well, I'm sorry. Life is so busy, but I am determined to finish this. I blame AP English for all of my problems.. **

* * *

><p>Chapter Fourteen- Finnick<p>

I'm surprised when Mr. Cresta answers the door. I've barely heard him utter a word in my entire life, though Annie used to talk about him like he was amazing. He doesn't look too good when he answers the door, though. His toothbrush flings water at me from his hand, and his eyes have taken on a yellow quality.

"Annie is busy." He grumbles.

"She is? Did she go to town?" I ask, a smile playing on my lips. I know it's too good to be true though, because Mr. Cresta narrows his eyes at me.

"No, she's-"

He's cut off by a piercing scream that I instantly recognize from the games. His eyes bug out, and he tries to shut the door, but I stop it with my hand and force it open. It seems like it only takes a second for me to run up to Annie's room, where her mom is trying to drag her across the floor toward a door that's open at the end of the hall. The water is running from the bathtub, and Annie is screaming her head off.

"What are the stylists going to think? Panem is going to see you eventually, Annie!" Her mom shrieks over her screaming.

Her dad runs up after me and tries to grab my arm and pull me out of the room. "I never said you could come in!" He yells over both of the girls.

Annie's mom turns around and starts to panic when she sees me. "Finnick! What are you doing here?" She tries to laugh it off. She drops Annie's arms, which thump on the floor as she buries her head in the carpet and sobs.

"I came to take Annie to lunch, is that okay?"

Mrs. Cresta's face brightens, but her husband steps in front of Annie's heap on the floor. "No, it's not. First of all, she's not going anywhere without a bath. And besides, she won't even eat anything. She's dying!" His voice rises until he's shouting at me and everyone else in the room.

I just step around Mr. Cresta and pick up Annie in my arms effortlessly. She's lost so much weight. "Don't worry, Mr. Cresta. I'll take good care of her."

"Where are you taking her?" He demands as I start downstairs with his wife on my heels.

"Don't mind him, Dear. He's just tired." Annie's mom plays with her hands nervously. "When will you be back?" She asks when we get to the front door.

I want to tell her that I'm never going to bring her back to this horrible place, but I just say "Soon."

Mrs. Cresta smiles and pats my cheek before turning around and walking into the kitchen. I feel nauseous as I walk across the street to Mags' house with the whimpering girl in my arms. Her mom just doesn't even want to deal with her. I wonder how Mae would've acted if she ended up winning.

"Shhh…"

When Mags opens the door, I almost jump for joy when she doesn't flip out. I knew she wouldn't, but I was still nervous. "I've been waiting for you guys." She says, holding the door. I walk to the living room and set Annie on the couch.

"Annie, you remember Mags, right? It's only been…"

"Thirteen days, six hours, and seven minutes." Annie fills in, wiping her eyes.

I bite my lip and look at Mags, who just smiles kindly at Annie. "Do you want something to drink, Annie?"

I think she's about to decline, but she actually says yes. Mags is about to go get it, but I tell her to sit down and that I will.

I stay in the kitchen for longer than necessary before I come back and hand Annie and Mags some tea. "Where'd you get those?" Mags says, pointing to the bag of sugar cubes in my hand.

"I found them in the back of the cupboard."

"Don't get into the habit again, Finnick. You'll rot your teeth." Mags says, just like a grandmother would.

I plop down in the chair and dig my hand into the sticky bag. "I only want a few. I haven't had one in over a year. You hid them from me." I frown; just annoyed at the world.

Out of nowhere, a giggle escapes Annie's lips. Something I haven't heard since… I'm not sure I've ever heard her laugh like that. For some reason, I start laughing too.

Mags smiles brightly. "This is something I wish I heard more."

I smile, in a better mood for no apparent reason. Annie's laugh is so… cute. It's just seems so out of place here.

"You guys don't laugh?" Annie says, like nothing bad has ever happened to her in her life. I can't keep up with this girl.

"We do sometimes, but Finnick's jokes have run dry over the years." Mags lightly punches my arm.

"Hey! I'm practically a comedian! You just don't see the humor in anything."

Out of nowhere, Annie leans forward and looks at me with bright eyes. "What did you guys do after the Games were over? Don't you have talents?"

This catches me off guard as I think of the piano in my living room that hasn't been touched for months. I decided to watch my mom turn to nothing instead of bury myself in the music books I hardly needed anyway. She hated the music. Whenever I played, she would hide herself in her room and turn up the TV really loud, letting the Capitol images and sound take her over completely. I used to get so mad at her, yelling about how she doesn't care about anything I do, and she would tell me I'm old enough to care for myself. I would threaten to take away the pills and she would beg me to forgive her.

"No, I don't have a talent."

"Don't be modest, Finnick." Mags smiles her missing-tooth smile at me raises her mug before looking to Annie. "He plays the piano, and I just sew."

"Now you're being modest, Mags. You can cook too. I was telling Annie about the fish dinners you make." I say, hoping I might be able to talk Annie into eating something.

Annie looks around the room at all the dusty knick-knacks and shelves as she says, "You can play the piano, Finnick?"

"Not really."

Mags pats my calloused hand with her soft, old one. "Oh, Finnick."

"You have a lovely home, Mags." She says quietly as she gets up to look at a shelf of little porcelin people dancing. I watch carefully as she runs her finger down one of the girls' pink dresses. "Where did you get all of these things?"

Mags has some what of a fascination with little porcelin figures. They litter just about every room in the house. Every time she goes to town, she buys more and more. I think she like them because they are always smiling. "I buy them in town. You have money now, so you can buy some too."

"I don't know about that." Annie says, smiling and picking up a little mermaid sitting on a rock. "My dad says that he's going to manage the money. He buys lots and lots of medicine." She sounds so innocent, but I know she knows what it's for. "He thinks I'm dying, but I think he'll die before me. Finnick couldn't come over yesterday because the doctor was at our house, fixing him. They told him not to take so many pills, but he didn't listen."

"My mom does that too." I say, closing my eyes. This is such a mess, and I feel helpless.

As Annie looks at the statues, Mags turns and whispers to me, "You can't fix everything, Finnick. You've always tried, but you just can't."

I don't answer. Instead I look at Annie, who is laughing again. "This reminds me of you, Finnick." She holds up a boy with a fishing pole and a net.

"Why?"

"He has that expression you always make."

"It reminds me of him too," Mags says, getting up and joining Annie next to a shelf.

I pop a few sugar cubes in my mouth and lean back, but Mags hobbles back over after a second. "Why don't you leave for a while, Finnick? I think it would be a good idea."

"But-"

"I know. Just trust me."

"I hate when you get all 'I have wisdom' on me, Mags." I slowly get up from the chair anyways though. I'm afraid to leave Annie, but I think I know what Mags is trying to do. "Call me."

* * *

><p>I'm not sure what to do. I don't really remember what I did before Annie came to occupy all of my thoughts. I wonder how I've made it through the days these past few years. I guess I've just spent most of the time in that cluttered room of her, getting really good at checkers.<p>

I decided to go to the market to pick up some food. While I'm there, I buy some alcohol for my mom. I end up breaking it on a rock before I get home though.

"Where have you been?" My mom sits at the table with Adalaide smoking.

"With Annie." I smile, just to annoy Adalaide. They both start cracking up, and my mom looks to Adalaide to know how long and how loud to laugh. "At least I'm not just sitting at home killing myself and trashing the place."

"Watch your mouth, Fin." Adalaide points at me with a wine glass.

"No thanks, _Ad_." I begin putting away the groceries and taking the old things out of our fridge. "What do you want for dinner, Mom?"

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you're going to eat. What do you want?"

"Why, is Annie coming over, Honey?" My mom says bitterly.

"I don't know."

"I don't want to meet that girl."

I slam the fridge and leave the room. This is hopeless. I'm not an idiot; I know my mom could go any minute. I want to repair our relationship, but I just can't. It's so hard. I've tried almost my whole life after my dad died to reach her, but it's impossible.

I take the old cover off the piano and dust it. Then I alphabetize my songbooks. I'm afraid to play though, because Adalaide might dump her drink on the instrument or something.

Someday, I want to play for Annie.

I try to ignore the thought that I failed with my mom. I try to ignore that every time I see Adalaide I think of her trying to rip my clothes off. I try to ignore that Annie's family is probably going to be worse than mine.

I wait by the phone upstairs for hours, but Mags doesn't call. I keep hearing Mags voice in my head at the training center. "I told you so, Finnick."

So many emotions are crossing in my mind; I don't know what to feel. I just lie there and tie and untie the phone cord. My hands shake badly. I'm mad at my mom. I'm mad at myself. I want to protect Annie. I want to hurt Adalaide badly. I want to know how Mags is so calm about everything.

I'm about to go mad when the doorbell rings. I run downstairs so fast that my head spins. I swing the door open to a very sweet-smelling Annie. Mags is amazing. Her hair no longer sticks to her for-head, and her sliced arms are bandaged up. The cuts on her neck and face no longer look inflamed. The only problem is, her green eyes are wide with fear.

I step onto the porch and pull her to me, taking in her fresh smell. "Annie, what's the matter? Where's Mags?"

"I- I- she- You have to come quickly!" She pulls out of my arms and pulls on my hand. I shiver runs down my spine.

"What happened?" I ask as I lead her down the steps quickly, my heart starting to pound. I know what has to be wrong.

"Mags!" She tells me, as I tow her back to my best friend's house. When I open the door, a doctor is bent over Mags' unconscious body.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading, please review? Well, if you're still out there.. because I update once about every...century.. haha<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

_If you guys still want to read this.. then I love you (: Well, band season is finally over, and I believe I promised you a finished product eventually. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like_

_Response to "Mockingjayswillburn" 's review: I guess I did make a lot of bad people in this story... but then again, Panem isn't exactly full of sweethearts. Also, it contributes to Finnick's feelings of lonliness I guess? Or maybe the fact that Finnick and Mags' friendship is rare. Anywho, don't worry. Not everyone may be as bad as they seem ;) _

_Thanks for reviewing everyone_

* * *

><p>Chapter Fifteen- Finnick<p>

Mags didn't die.

Annie holds my hand as I stand over Mags' bed, looking down at her sleeping body. It almost looks as if she wasn't hurt at all.

Watching the delicate rise and fall of her chest makes me want to throw something across the room. The doctors where able to fix her, and I couldn't. They were here before me.

She was there for me every moment of my life since I was fourteen, and I wasn't there for her.

I stand there for what feels like hours before walking into the guest room and collapsing on the bed. Annie follows me lays down next to me silently. She doesn't let go of my hand, even after she falls asleep. I stare at the ceiling almost all night, wondering if I might be able to sleep ever again. In the morning, I manage to get my fingers out of Annie's grip and go home.

The first thing I do is ripping the cover off the piano. I practically tear the front off a songbook as I open it. My thoughts become so consumed by the lines of the staff and the black notes that are printed there that I don't even bother looking up when my mother yells at me to stop. I hit the keys as hard as I can, filling the empty house with fast music. Even the prettiest of songs seem to have turned bitter, though.

I play through every songbook I own, again and again. Eventually I get bored though, and start to write my on my own.

When the doorbell rings, it's nighttime. I don't get it, and neither does my mother.

I spend the next few days in my living room, completely dazed. Sometimes I doze off on the couch, only to awake a few minutes later and play again. I write the sunrise and sunset into my song. I write Annie and Mags and the ocean. I can't help it when President Snow even makes an appearance.

"Finnick, Annie is on the phone."

"I don't want to talk to Annie." I say flatly, searching the kitchen cupboards for some sugar cubes. Something about sucking on pure sugar is very relaxing. I think Annie might laugh if I ever say that to her.

"You realized she was social suicide, didn't you?"

I shake my head, too tired to get mad. My limbs feel like bricks as I get up out of my squat on the floor and look my mom in the eye. "Just tell her I'm not home."

* * *

><p>Time is nonexistent. I understand why Annie wouldn't get out of bed now. It's safer just to stay inside, away from your family and friends. Anyone who cares about you needs to stay away.<p>

If the sun gets too bright, you can just pull the covers over your eyes. If you get cold, you just add another blanket. I stay somewhere between sleep and waking, listening to the phone ring several times every day.

I think I'm dreaming when I hear a man's voice yelling my name from down stairs. I pull the covers over my ears and try to drown out another person that's expecting something from me.

I hear the pounding of boots on my steps and then my door is thrust open. I almost fall out of bed when Mr. Cresta glares at me from across the room. His eyes are a paler yellow than they were before, and his skin isn't as washed out. He looks a hell of a lot better than me, and I was blaming him of bad behavior before.

"Can I help you?" I try to sound sarcastic, but it comes out as more surprise. I never planned on anyone seeing me like this, especially the father of the girl who I…I... I don't know.

"Actually, you can. I was wondering where you've been for the past three weeks." He says it quietly, but the words come out like a slap.

_Three WEEKS? What? _

"I was sick." I say, tentatively getting out of my bed and standing before him in wrinkled clothes.

"Sick like your friends Mags?" He glances just to the side of my head like Annie always does.

"Not the same sickness." I spit. I rub my forehead and sigh. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you got what you wanted from my daughter."

"What do you mean?"

He takes a step forward and adjusts the collar of his white button-up shirt. "Did you get what you needed from her? Is that why you've stopped coming over? Or did you think she was better?" He doesn't seem mad, just confused. Just a poor father of a mad daughter who he is still trying to love.

I clench my fists. The way he asks the questions is exactly like Annie. He merely just wants an answer, but the question implies so much more without him even realizing it. "It's not my job to make her better, Mr. Cresta." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to take them back. I told Annie in the hovercraft after the Games that I would never let anything happen to her. And after all of the promises that people have broken to me, you think I would have learned by now.

He looks at me for a long time before he says, "I know."

I bite my lip and itch the stubble that's growing on my chin. "I-"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Finnick. Excuse me." He says before turning around and leaving the room.

I swallow the lump in my throat when as I slowly walk to the kitchen and dial Mags. I am not surprised by the voice that answers.

I hang up the phone before it's my turn to talk and head to Mags' after a much-needed shower. Although I've rested for three weeks, I feel dead. Old.

I ring the doorbell, but when no one answers, I walk in. The kitchen is perfectly clean, and the living room is dusted better than it has been in years. I hear voices upstairs, but I don't want to go up. I can't face it.

Somehow, my feet carry me into Mags' room, which has become unlike anything I've ever seen. Mags sits on a bed under millions of yellow stars that litter a navy blue ceiling. She talks softly to Annie, who is sitting cross-legged on the floor as she paints grass under a tree by Mags' closet. Under the windows, across from the door, an ocean glimmers red, as if from a sunset.

Mags looks up at me and rolls her eyes. "I know you come around one these days." Mags smiles her familiar toothless smile as if the garbled words are normal. I swallow another lump.

Annie drops her paintbrush and looks up at me, and then at Mags.

"The room?" Mags asks; gesturing to the ocean and then the flowered wall that Annie is sitting near.

"I love it," I say, "It's beautiful."

I don't know if I can take another step into the room, but I don't have to force my feet because Annie comes up to me and hugs me tightly, her head resting on my shoulder. Mags gives me an "I told you so" look. I can hardly believe the woman. She has a stroke, she can barely talk, and she's still chiding me.

When Annie finally let's go, she looks just to the left of my head, her eyes taking on a faraway look. "We missed you."

* * *

><p>"Who taught you?" Annie says quietly, leaning her head on the arm of the couch.<p>

"I taught myself with the books." I tell her, noticing how her face has taken on a little bit of the roundness she had before the Games.

"The music is beautiful."

I get up from the bench and come to sit by her on the couch, taking hold of her cold hand. "Are you tired?" I ask her, because she is still staring at where I was sitting and her smile has faded. I know she's not tired, but it's something else.

When she doesn't answer, I trace circles on her palm and run my fingers lightly over the scars on her arms. "Where are you, Annie?"

She slowly turns back to me and puts her head on my shoulder. "I'm here." She sighs.

I wonder if, when Annie was reaped, Mags saw her as a good friend for me. Mags had to know that sooner or later, she might have to go. Maybe that's why she's always so happy to see me with Annie.

We've all been staying at Mags' house during the day, because that's where Annie stayed when I stopped talking to her. Right now, I can't imagine why I'd ever do that to them. I felt horrible about it, but Mags would poke me with a soft wrinkled finger whenever I'd tried to apologize. Annie never even mentioned it again. Her father wasn't even surprised to see me return to her company on the days that she couldn't move. I guess everyone knew I'd come back.

"Is your dad still buying pills?" I ask her, because I just don't have the energy to hate everyone. After all, he's the one who brought me back, and someday I want to be able to look him straight in the eye again. He is the only one besides Mags who as ever seen me in such an awful state.

"Yes." She puts her hand on top of mine. "But not as much. He said he has to teach the boys how to swim."

Of course. For the Games. My stomach lurches. I'm about to change the subject but Annie injects. "Finnick?"

"Yeah?"

It takes her a while to respond. I twirl a strand of her soft hair in my calloused fingers. Her breathing eventually becomes heavy, but just when I think she's fallen asleep she whispers, almost inaudibly, "Have you ever fallen in love?"

* * *

><p><em>Please review<em>


	16. Chapter 16

**_Okay, as a request, this chapter is from Annie's point of view. If you were waiting for the love to begin, then this chapter will probably make you happy_**

**_Thanks for all of your kind reviews everyone :) _**

* * *

><p>Chapter Sixteen- Annie<p>

"Maybe," Finnick says, "A long time ago."

"What happened?" I ask slowly, the words seemingly to roll off my tongue carefully. My mind feels like it's being pulled in two directions, one side holding on to Finnick, and the other trying desperately to picture Tales' face.

"I was only twelve. I don't think you can fall in love when you're twelve."

"With who?" I say quietly, rubbing my ear with my fingers to try and stop the ringing screams.

"Are you okay?"

"Mhmm." I mumble, taking my hand away and biting my lip until my teeth sink through the skin. I haven't done this in a while, but sometimes pain is what is takes to bring me back. I think Tales was in love with Mae once…

Suddenly I am off my feet and sitting on one of Finnick's kitchen chairs. He's running a towel under the water and frowning at me, mutter something I can't hear. I slap the side of my head with my palm and try to come back.

He takes my hand gently and puts it in my lap. "Can you hear me?"

I nod, the pain on my mouth finally starting to register. He dabs the cloth on my chin, wiping off fresh blood. I can feel the heat in my cheeks as I snatch the cloth, suddenly embarrassed. I want to say something, but all that comes out is, "I didn't mean to."

"Was is something I said?" He asks the question sincerely, but he looks so tired. Dark crescents under his eyes display many sleepless nights. I wonder if it's because I'm usually next to him. I didn't even stop to consider that maybe he didn't want me to…

I hastily try to scrub the blood before the tears come. It won't stop coming out though, so I just throw it in the sink and use my hand to stop it as I run out the door.

Of course though, Finnick comes after me, probably because of some obligation he forgot to tell me about. "Annie, what's the matter?" He calls after me.

"Nothing. I have to go!" My voice breaks.

When I get home I decide to paint. I want to paint black. Fear. Anger.

My finished product is nothing like intended, though: a picture of someone smiling. Greens and blues mixed together to create the most beautiful eye color. When I set down the brushes and look at the canvas, an image of Finnick smiles back at me.

* * *

><p>Mags' had already drifted into a deep sleep, but of course Finnick and I were wide-awake downstairs. His fingers moved swiftly, tying and untying a dull brown piece of fishing rope over and over again. A task he could have only learned from the games. My stomach aches with nerves and dread.<p>

"I don't have any speeches." I tell him, maybe for the first time, or maybe for the millionth. I don't remember.

He looks at me and smiles; his eyes saying something I don't understand. "Who cares? You already won, so what can they do? They'll probably be too distracted by my good looks, anyway."

I smile shakily and lean my head on his shoulder. He puts down the rope and takes my hands, something very routine for us. "You're freezing."

My stomach turns. "I can't do it." I shake my head and habitually move my hands away to cover my ears and block out the screams that seem to rattle my brain.

"Just smile and tell them thank you, that's all." He slowly takes my hands back and rubs them, trying to warm them up. Despite his confident words, even he sounds nervous.

"They will ask me about Tales." I gulp, my eyes involuntarily welling with tears. I spring up from Mags' couch and hurry to the kitchen, pretending I'm thirsty. Finnick follows me just like he always does because he has to make sure I'm okay. It's because he wants to, not because of an obligation. That's what he told me eighty-four days ago.

I fumble with the tap, and look away from him. When my glass is finally filled though, I take a reproachful look at it and set it back down.

"Annie." It isn't a question. There's something about Finnick's voice that makes me tear my eyes from my shoes. _Please, _I beg myself to focus, _stay here. _

When I look up at him, I'm surprised to find that the lines of his faces are clear. I can tell I'm in Mags' kitchen, and there are no faded edges on my reality. I let out a slow breath. Finnick takes a step forward, his arm encircling me, my head finding it's usual place on his shoulder. I hug him back as hard as I possibly can.

We stay like this for a long time, holding tightly as if everything depended on it. It's only when Finnick starts to say something that I loosen my hold so I can see his face. "Wha-" I begin to whisper a question, but my words are cut off by Finnick's lips pressing down against mine. He is extremely gentle until my arm somehow moves around his neck, pressing out chests together and adding a stronger pressure.

I fall forward, stumbling into nothing. Finnick suddenly stands all the way across the room, looking horrified.

As quickly as it comes though, it's gone, and he's over at the phone, dialing some number. "Yeah, I forgot to give you… yes, I'll be there in a second. Okay. Bye."

"Who was that?"

"Tomorrow is a big day, you'd better get some rest." He smiles at me neutrally, his face a mask. "Want me to walk you home, or are you staying here?"

"I-I guess I'll stay…"

"Okay, I have to go, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" I ask, hating how my voice sounded like a child.

"I have some things to take care of before your victory tour. Get some sleep." With that, he turned abruptly and left, banging the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Sleep is impossible. The bed feels cold and empty without Finnick beside me, one arm draped over me to hold us together. I don't want to think what I might do to myself if I wake up screaming and he isn't there. Or it might be one of those nights when <em>he's<em> the one who wakes up screaming...

I fetch my paints from Mags' room and begin to paint some kind of angel on the wall above the bed frame. It's no use though. It's too quiet, and the nausea is creeping over me again.

Then it hits me.

Finnick went to the beach the night before the reaping, as did I. The sound of the water was… Well, it used to be calming.

I freeze and consider for a moment whether or not to go to the place where we first met. Then I decide that the desire to be with Finnick outweighs the water. It probably isn't healthy to be so attached to him, but I can't make myself pull away. We'll never face another reaping, so he'll always be with me. I need him.

That is, of course, if tonight didn't ruin everything. I touch my lips lightly with my forefinger, trying to wrap my brain around what is going on. Before I can let the pull of the Games come back to suffocate me, I run out the door.

* * *

><p>It's colder out than I thought. I wrap my arms around myself because I realize too late that I'm only wearing a thin nightgown.<p>

I see a silhouette standing on the rocks ahead of me, and I begin to stumble toward it. The sound of waves crashing in the distance sends jolts of fear through my stomach. I bring my hands over my ears and walk faster, staying as far away from the water as possible.

"Finnick?" I gasp, trying to block out the memory of the body that I saw floating next to me in the water almost six months ago. I see the dark figure move in the distance, but he's still to far away. "Finnick?"

I don't hear a response because I press my hands against my ears as hard as possible, blocking out all of the water. He walks briskly toward me, his mouth hardened into a tight line. Before I can say anything, his arm slides around my waist and we walk away from the water until the green tall grasses surround us. When we stop, Finnick puts his hands over mine and slowly takes them away from my head, then he shrugs off his thin coat and drapes it over my shoulders.

He's about to say something when I ask, "Are you okay?"

His frown softens and he sits down on the cool sand, gesturing for me to follow. I slowly sit next to him and he takes my hand before I can move it to my ears again. "Are you mad?"

"I can't get mad at you. I've told you that before."

"Eighty-four days ago."

"I'm sorry. I should have never kissed you." He runs his other hand through the messy bronze hair that I used to make fun of him for.

"Why did you kiss me?" I bite my tongue. I probably shouldn't have asked. I always act without thinking. Maybe if I weren't like that, Tales would have wanted me for an ally and-

Finnick's voice brings me back to reality, as always. "I just wanted to make my own decision for once. I just… I wanted to…" He looks away from me, his hand balled into a fist.

"I just… I don't know if I can afford… I can't do it to you." His face is pale, making his eyes look even brighter. Something in my chest starts to ache.

I pick at a string on my dress, feeling like a child again. This is Finnick Odair we're talking about… how could I think that…

Maybe I really am "Crazy Annie."

I press my lips together and turn away from him this time, praying that maybe I won't start to cry like a stupid little girl. For the first time ever, I wish that my memories would pull on me again, and take me to a place where I can't really register what's going on. Maybe having a normal state of mind right now isn't a good idea.

"Annie?"

I swallow a large lump in my throat. "Yeah, I heard you." It barely comes out as a whisper.

Finnick sighs and lies down on the blanket of sand. Eventually I lay down next to him, and he lets go of my hand to put his arm around me.

The sound of the rolling waves makes me squirm, so I move my head closer to Finnick's chest so I can hear his heart instead.

"Are you okay here? Do you want to go back to the house?"

"No, this is fine." It isn't completely a lie. Sometimes we wake up like this in the morning and laugh. We both thrash so much in our sleep that it's unbelievable one of us doesn't fall out of the bed.

I swallow every few seconds to keep another lump from forming on my throat. Maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing. I don't know what it's supposed to feel like. I can't help myself from asking, just so I can know... "Finnick, what did it feel like to fall in love?"

"I wasn't in love. I was only twelve." His words sounded calm, but I could hear his heartbeat pick up.

"Oh, well I was just wondering." I decide to leave it at that. Maybe that's my answer.

A long time passes. Finnick never says anything in return. The sky is beginning to lighten when I finally start to drift off to sleep. I'm just about to sink into unconsciousness and get rid of the dull ache in my chest when Finnick says, "Maybe it feels like this."

* * *

><p><em>Aww, they are both afraid to fall in love ^.^ Sorry, I'm a sucker for cute stuff like this. I hope you thought Annie's view was okay. I imaged her thoughts being a little sporadic, so I hoped I could kind of portray that. The <strong>review<strong> button is right below... only a click away... :) _


	17. Chapter 17

_Wow, somehow I managed to attract some new readers! I knew a little romance might do the trick ;) Thanks so much for all your kind reviews guys, I'm really glad you are like this story. As a request, I included some of the last night from Finnick's view, enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Chapter Seventeen- Finnick<p>

The events of night replay themselves endlessly in mind. I don't know what came over me. It was one of those times when you forget to think about anything.

As we lay on the couch, I couldn't stop thinking about what it might feel like to kiss someone when you actually wanted to. Somewhere between Annie's victory and now, she became what I looked forward to every day. Sometimes she would be far away, and other days she would tease me about things like she used to before the games. Maybe it's because of her honesty, maybe it's because of her thoughtful questions. Or maybe it's the fact that she doesn't seem to care what I've done. She asks, but she's always with me every day, despite what I've told her.

Sometimes she scares me though. She looks at me with those green eyes and whispers her questions, and I never lie. I can lie perfectly to everyone but her, and I wonder if she knows that she's the only one who has that power.

I lie in the sand and listen to her shallow breathing, wondering what's happened to me. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. When I was sixteen, I told Mags that I would never fall in love. It's stupid. It doesn't exist. I'm already ruined.

It's funny how one kiss did more for me than sleeping with all those girls.

* * *

><p>When I wake up, the sun is high in the sky. Annie and I lay close together, our chests pressed against one another and our limbs so entangled it's a wonder we didn't kill each other in our sleep.<p>

I allow myself to smile as I whisper her name to wake her up.

That's when I hear it. The chorus of "aw" coming from above us makes me realize what this looks like to other people. I'm on my feet in a split second, glaring at the painted people and the man with the camera. Annie's cheeks redden as she furiously combs the sand from her sweaty hair.

"What are you guys doing here?" I spit, balling my hands into fists.

"Well, it's not like we could find her when we went to her house. But since I'm a sucker for romance, I'll let this one slide." A man smiles and dabs his purple eyes with a handkerchief and acts like he's doing me a great favor. I suppress the urge to punch him in the face.

I hold out a hand to help Annie up, but someone from her prep team gets there first. "Don't worry!" she sings, her multitude of earrings sparkling in the sun. "You'll see your girlfriend before the train!"

Somehow, I don't think President Snow will let this one slide.

* * *

><p>Annie's victory tour is awful, though I expected no different.<p>

She is practically in tears already when she comes to the train station. I'm not planning on giving the Capitol any more reasons to assume about our relationship, but when she grabs my hand, I don't think twice about holding on.

She manages to squeak out a speech, which, I think, surprises everyone. She just tells them thank you. She says the exact same thing at every district, carefully moving around the subject of Tales. I tell her that she's handling this extremely well.

I, on the other hand, am not. The Capitol is the worst. At the fancy dinner, President Snow requests my presence on the third floor of his estate. I walk up the marble steps slowly, thinking about when I was the Victor. Everyone was dying to talk to me or even just get a look, and I _loved_ it. I had no idea that in a few years time this place would make me sick. Annie is the Victor and people still want to dance with me.

"Hello?" I crack open the door to the office without knocking.

"Ahh, Mr. Odair. Please sit down." President Snow turns around slowly in his chair and gestures to an empty leather chair. I sit down and rub my nose, resisting the urge to gag at the perfume he must be wearing. It's so sickly sweet that it makes my stomach churn. "I have seen something quite interesting. Do you know what I'm talking about?" He slides an envelope at me.

"I already know." I say, not touching the thing. I don't want to see a picture of something I might never have again. "What are you going to do? Kill a Victor? That's pretty low, even for you."

He chuckles and takes a sip of wine from a large fancy glass. "So defensive, Mr. Odair. I just have a question for you. Just one wee question."

"What?" I swallow, gripping the leather. He smiles at me with his beady eyes, his teeth stained from the red wine.

"What kind of person would want to mess up such a relationship?" He sloshes the wine up and down the sides of the crystal glass and watches as I try not to squirm.

"There _is_ no relationship. I-"

"Right," He cuts me off, "There isn't any more. Have fun tonight, Mr. Odair." Then he turns around, an obvious dismissal. I get up slowly, my legs unwilling to bend.

I hunt down Maya Fringe, who is standing in the midst of a group of men. "Let's go."

"Finnick, it's only eleven. We don't have to-"

"Please-" I'm cut off by Annie darting over to me and gripping my hand so tightly that it might hurt if I weren't in such a daze. She looks stone faced, and she doesn't glance at either one of us when she says they're done taking pictures.

"Fine whatever!" Maya throws her hands in the air. "The guest of honor will leave an hour early!"

I shake my head at her. "Whatever, we'll stay." I lead Annie away, but before I can get to the dance floor, a man comes up and starts talking to her about the color of her eye shadow. I'm surprised when she smiles at him and says yes when he asks her to dance.

It's like a cue or something. She leaves, and a girl comes up and asks if I want to see something in a hallway. I manage a stupid joke about the fish here and she laughs way too hard.

Only an hour left.

* * *

><p>I have to tell Annie she can't stay with me. I know tonight will be like the night on the train when she was in the games.<p>

President Snow has too many friends.

Maya grimaces when she even sees Annie talking to me at the door.

* * *

><p>When we head back to District Four, Annie's prep team looks like they are having a hard time making her look presentable. She looks like she hasn't slept in days, and when she comes to my room to tell me that we are almost to our District, I keep my hands in my pockets and stand a few feet away.<p>

I stay in the shower for almost an hour, and I'm the very last one off the train. At the festival, Adalaide greets me with a sloppy kiss on the cheek. My mom scowls at Annie.

Two girls hang on me the entire night.

How stupid I was to think I could forget about my job.

I do it again though, because when Callie and Brock want Annie to take her turn mentoring, I don't argue like I should have. She comes along to the Seventy-First Hunger Games as a fourteen-year-old boy and an eighteen-year-old girl fight from our district. Sam and Marina. I've seen them around town enough.

She is so kind to the girl that I can't stand to watch her mentoring.

Maybe Annie, Mags, and Eddison, aren't very good at coaching the fighting part, but both kids end up making it into the final eight.

At night, I stay in the huge glass building as long as I possibly can.

She covers her eyes during the Games, or sits with her back turned from the huge screen in the dimly lit room. She plugs her ears so she doesn't have to hear the screaming. No one says anything about it. After being so upset about Marina's death, I make her laugh by pulling her into another closet.

I don't sleep with anyone the entire time.

Annie's mindless scratches on her arms aren't as bad as I thought they'd be. She never shows that she's upset until after we leave the huge room where all the Mentors watch.

I think that maybe this will be more bearable with Annie around. I'm not dating her, and I never even hold her hand in public, so President Snow should have no qualms. I was just busy during the nights. I was trying to keep Sam alive like a good mentor would do.

Yeah, only stupid people think things like that.

When we get back, Annie's mother is dead. Boating _accident_.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading - Look at that button down there waiting for you to click it...<em>


	18. Chapter 18

**_New Chapter! About time, I'd say. I love writing this story. This chapter is adorable in that sad kind of way. _**

**_Thanks for all your reviews guys. Especially Claire, who said my writing is like Suzanne Collins. That was like.. the best compliment ever (: _**

**_Okay, I hope you like this one _**

* * *

><p>Chapter Eighteen- Finnick<p>

More people show up than I would have imagined. Not very many people cry though, as Mrs. Cresta's body is sent out to sea in a normal District Four funeral. It begins in late afternoon, and Annie stands there motionless until everyone leaves, even her dad. I begin to worry around sunset if she's ever coming back.

I try to take her hand, but she pulls away from me for the first time ever, only increasing my self-revulsion.

I shove my hands in my pockets and try to imagine what we're supposed to do after this. How many years left until I can escape this world and go to a place with no Hunger Games.

"My mom was a perfect swimmer." I jump back. Her voice isn't a whisper like it usually is. It's clear above the sound of the waves and the sea gulls in the distance. "She even taught us."

"Annie-" I look down the sand–tined red from the sunset–and avoid her eyes that will make me tell her anything. Even the words that have be burning in my mind, their burn far worse than any liquid pain. _It's my fault your mother is dead. _

"Remember when you told me…" She swallows and looks at me, her eyes empty.

"I told you a lot of things." I clear my throat.

She opens up her coat and takes out a small, folded piece of paper from the inside pocket. It's the thick kind of paper that comes from the Capitol: peach-colored parchment with small white embellishments on the sides. When she holds it out to me, I recognize the loopy cursive immediately.

_My Dear Annie, _

_ Congratulations on your victory in the seventieth annual Hunger Games. I trust that you had a good time on your victory tour. We would love to see you in the Capitol again, but it has come to my attention that your mother has become very sick. We understand that you should probably stay home and take of her, lest you miss the final goodbyes by being a mentor. After all, you are much less experienced than the others in your district. Due time, my dear._

_ President Snow _

"You told me that he could force you into anything. They took you away in the Training Center…" She blinks slowly, looking like she might fall over.

"Why didn't you show me this?" I squint, the world seeming to sway under my feet.

"It was the picture, wasn't it? I saw your face when they took that picture." She takes the note back and puts it in her coat.

"If you showed me this then-"

"I can't just-" She bites her lip, her eyes becoming glassy. "Just never mind, Finnick. Just tell me what you what you came her to tell me."

I shove my hands in my pockets again so I don't reach out to her. "This is my f-"

"Skip this part." She cuts me off, but looks down at the sand before I can see her face.

"I'm going to ruin your life Annie. You still have a chance…"

"A chance to do what?" She looks at me, horrified, tears running down her cheeks. "Help my brothers train incase they get picked? Work for money we don't need?"

"You can be happy one day. I can't drag you down with me. I… I'm sorry." The words seem to tumble out of my mouth without making sense. Yes, this is definitely worse than liquid pain.

"But Finnick, I lo-"

I gasp, realizing what she's about to say. "Don't say that. No you don't. You don't." I say, feeling like I'm about to puke.

I turn and walk away before I begin to reconsider. Any longer looking at her, and she'll have me just like she always does… _Did_.

When I get home, I my fists connect with the glass of our back door. The mess I've made.

* * *

><p>The pounding on Mags' guestroom door wakes me out of a dream about my own funeral.<p>

"Mags?" I call, guilt flooding back from the night before. She's been telling Annie that I'll come around, and I got angry with her. I forgot that I was going to wake up earlier this morning so I could cook her a nice breakfast.

"Guest." Mags says, not opening the door.

"If that's my mom-"

"Guest." Mags says again, ignoring me. She says she only does it when I'm being senseless. I roll my eyes.

"Okay, who-" I freeze when I open the door and see Mr. Cresta standing in the hallway. I haven't seen any of the Crestas for over two months. Annie stopped trying to call, and Mags stopped trying to make me feel guilty.

"Finnick, can I talk to you for a second?" He looks at me seriously, his eyes narrowed. I run a hand through my messed up hair.

"Um, sure." I step out into the hallway so I'm face to face with him.

"So what? Do you give out year-long contracts?"

"Monthly." I say sarcastically, but he doesn't find it amusing.

"Alright, then why don't you give me a little piece of advice, Finnick Odair?"

"For _free_?"

"Finnick!" Mags snaps. I didn't notice her behind Mr. Cresta's tall figure. I suppress the urge to roll my eyes.

"Okay, okay. I can see you're not the humorous type. What can I do for you?" I pretend to be exasperated.

"Oh, just a small thing, I'm sure." He smiles tightly. "Tell me how to make Annie stop screaming at night."

"How would _I_ know that?" I have to be anything but serious.

"Don't play dumb with me, Finnick. Just tell me. Because I thought you were… I thought she was getting better. She's yelling your name. Was this some kind of _game_ to you?" He squints at me.

"Nope, I'd prefer hop-scotch over this."

Mags whacks my arm with a book and tries to apologize to Annie's dad. Only, it becomes clear that I'm the only one who understands what she's trying to say. Mr. Cresta shakes his head.

"You don't have any ideas?"

"None. Sorry."

* * *

><p>"Finnick! The phone is ringing!" Adalaide calls me like some kind of slave. I get up off the piano bench and knock her wine glass off the table when I walk to the phone. My mom apologizes for me.<p>

"Hello?"

"Finnick, please come over." Something about Mr. Cresta's urgency sends a shiver down my spine.

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Oh, _God_. You're not still dating that Annie chick are you?" Adalaide looks at me incredulously.

On the way out, I accidentally knock the entire wine bottle off the table too.

The door is open before I'm even on the front porch.

Their house is chaotic. Cabe, Annie's youngest brother, sits on the floor screaming his head off amidst broken plates. Some sort of soup coats the wooden table where the pot tipped over. The other brother stands on the counter, yelling at Cabe to shut up. The TV is on full blast, and Mr. Cresta looks half-dead.

"What happened?" I scan the room for Annie involuntarily.

"Playing Hunger Games. Please just try. I promise you can leave right after." The way he says that makes my stomach twist in knots.

"Upstairs?"

He picks Cabe up off the floor. "Yes."

I run up the steps and open Annie's door without knocking. She whirls around and throws a plate at my face, but I manage to duck down before it connected with my nose. "Who taught you that kind of aim?"

She freezes and her eyes widen in shock.

I bend down and pick up the bowl–now split in two–so I don't automatically run to her and take her in my arms. Almost two and a half months of apathy are broken just by one look.

She takes a hesitant step closer. "I didn't believe Mags."

"I came back last time." I set the bowl on the dresser slowly.

She takes another small step. "Last time was only twenty two days."

"You're still counting?"

"This time was almost sixty."

"Almost?"

"I stopped counting…"

"Mags is always right." I say quietly, looking directly at her this time, her green eyes capturing me right away.

She closes the space between us and my arms instinctively circle around her. She jumps back and yelps though, before I can hug her tightly.

"Did I hurt you?" I take a step toward her and reach my arm out.

"No." She shakes her head too quickly. I grab her hands and pull her arms out so I can see them. Wet tracks of blood trail from her wrist to her elbow on both arms.

"Just lie down, Annie. I'll be right back." I turn to get a towel, but she grabs my shirt.

"Do you promise?"

I swallow a huge lump in my throat. "Promise."

I come back as quick as possible, my hands shaking as I wrap the bandages around the cuts. When I'm done, she takes one of mine calloused hands and looks at it. "What happened?"

"I hit the door."

She runs her cold fingers over the bumpy scars. "The glass door?"

"Yeah. A long time ago."

"Oh." She pulls me down on the bed next to her and curls up against me. We fit together like puzzle pieces. I pull the blanket over us, hoping that her arms don't hurt too bad to sleep. She doesn't seem too bothered by it, considering she didn't even wince when I cleaned the cuts.

She reaches up to my face and pulls it down to hers, our noses brushing up against each other like the morning on the beach forever ago. My stomach lurches. "Finnick."

"Mhmm?"

She bites her lip, then shakes her head and gives me a small smile. "Never mind. Are you going to stay?"

"Promise." I kiss her forehead because I can't help it.

She doesn't sleep as much as she usually does. Sometimes she wakes up and forgets where she is, but she doesn't scream. I wonder what I could have possibly told her dad to do to get her to stop other than to stay with her. But he couldn't have done it.

She smiles when I kiss her on the cheek one of the times she wakes up. Once, when she rolls over, her shirt slides off her shoulder a bit. She doesn't seem to notice. I want to kiss her on the shoulder but I pull her shirt back up to where it was because I know I'll already be kicking myself for this tomorrow morning.

* * *

><p>"Finnick, I thought you would have left last night." Annie's dad says as I walk by the kitchen in the morning. The clean floor bears no evidence of the pervious night.<p>

"I, uh… I won't be… I won't do that again. It was a mistake."

"Is she okay?"

"I'll make sure she is. Don't worry, sir."

"You go from snappy jokes to 'sir'?"

"I wasn't acting myself."

He looks up the ceiling, as if peering through to Annie's room. "I don't blame you."

"If she wakes up, will you tell her I'm coming back?"

"Of course."

* * *

><p>When I leave for the Seventy-Second Hunger Games, I make sure Annie doesn't even come with me to the train station. Hopefully everyone has forgotten the little "romance."<p>

I stick to a plan to mostly keep to myself this time, and the first time I actually talk to another Mentor isn't even until the third day at the Center. It's someone I haven't seen for a long while.

I make my way to the Training Center roof and find it surprising that someone else is here this late, standing in my usual spot on the far right corner.

"You know, you have to make reservations to this place."

She turns around and flips her short dark hair. "Well, if it isn't Finnick Odair, deciding to grace me with his presence."

"I could say the same to you, you know. I haven't seen you for five years. The least you could have done was thank me for hanging out with you last time." I give Johanna a mocking smile. The last time I saw her, I was sixteen and she was gearing up for her Games two years after mine. We hung out together because she decided she would ditch training everyday, and none of the District Four Mentors cared if I stuck around… The only thing I had to do was be back in my room at night…

"I decided not to come back until they forced me." She rubbed her hands together like she was brushing something off them. "What about you? Been here every year?"

I laugh a little. "What can I say? I've been forced."

She plops down on the stone floor of the roof and crosses her legs. I slowly sit down next her, hoping I don't still smell like Capitol perfume. "President Snow is a bastard."

I turn to her incredulously. "What is _wrong_ with you?" There's probably some kind of high-definition camera system out here.

She reaches across the space and smacks me on the shoulder. "Many things. Don't you remember me at all?"

"Yeah, I told you that if you won, I would pray for anyone that ever crossed your path."

She tossed her head back and laughed. "I remember that. We thought we were so cool."

I laughed a little. That seemed like a whole different world. Johanna and I, running around the training center and stealing people's jackets or food when they weren't looking, not really caring much about the upcoming Games. Not as many girls knew where to find me back then. She told me she'd win without training, and I believed her. "Immaturity was fun."

"Yeah."

It's quiet for a while, and I think about all that has gone on in the past five years. Twenty-one feels a lot older than it probably should. I wonder if people would leave me alone if I looked as old as I felt.

"Where's your girlfriend?"

I cough, that comment snapping me out of all my thoughts. "What are you talking about?"

"Y'know, that Crazy Annie chick?"

"Don't call her that." I snap. Of all things, she had to ask about Annie.

She holds her hands up and smirks. "My bad. Just asking."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Whatever."

"Do you honestly think I can have a girlfriend, Johanna?"

She lies down and puts her arms under her head. "You just seemed like you like her, that's all."

"Well I don't." I look out to the Capitol and cross my arms.

"Does _she_ know that?"

"Know what?"

"That you don't like her?"

I sigh. _Like_ isn't the right word. "What about _you_? Do you have a boyfriend?"

She glares at me. "No."

"Good, I'm glad we got this established."

"Except I wasn't lying, so we only got something established about one of us."

"You haven't changed at all."

"Nope."

* * *

><p><em><strong>I just love those frustrating times where you can't tell the person that you love them. Please review! <strong>_


	19. Chapter 19

_I wanted to give you guys a good Christmas present, but I couldn't write for the life of me. Soo... this chapter kind of sucks. I had to rewrite it like three times because nothing sounded good! But I promise, the next one will be better. Don't judge too harshly O.o Thank you Cindella204, for being my only reviewer last chapter. (:_

* * *

><p>Chapter Nineteen- Finnick<p>

"You think he will win?" Johanna lies on my couch, her feet on the coffee table.

"I don't know. He certainly thought he would on the train. He wouldn't listen to me at all." I keep my eyes on the TV screen, looking for any sign of Jax, my tribute. There are only two left.

"No listens to you, Finnick. I don't know where you got that impression."

I fling a pillow at her. "A lot of people care about what I say." I yawn. It's four in the morning, but the Games could end any second. Thankfully, no visitors have knocked for over an hour so I could hang out with Johanna.

"You're girlfriend probably does."

I glare at her, but she's looking at the TV. "Why won't you lay off the girlfriend thing?"

"Because I'm waiting for you to admit it. If you like someone, you should just go up and tell them. Life is too short, Finnick."

I turn to her, utterly shocked. "That was deep for someone so sarcastic." I want to change the tone back to joking, because I don't like giving out secrets to people. It's supposed to be the other way around.

I trust Johanna, but not with this. Not in the Capitol.

Her face serious and blank, something I've never seen with her before. Not even in the Games. She's always laughing. "What happened?" I blurt out, not suspecting she'll say anything.

"Nothing important." When I don't say anything back, she laughs and adds, "What? You think I was _in love_?"

"I don't know." I turn back to the TV. After this long, I've become extremely good at reading people. Suddenly, I don't feel much like joking around anymore.

"Well I wasn't." She says after a while, trying to sound defensive but failing.

"I'm not asking you to tell me about your life, Johanna. It's okay."

There is a long silence between us, and only Claudius Templesmith's voice fills the room.

"Well you should tell her."

"Stop bothering me about it. You don't know."

"You could tell me. It would occupy time. I love a good romance tale…"

I keep my eyes on the TV. I can't tell her anything. I can't explain it to myself, let alone anyone else. I've realized that I'm the only on who sees Annie the way I do. I don't think of her as crazy at all. "I do one night stands, not romance. I guy of my physical appearance can't stick to one girl. That would be a crime."

Johanna throws the pillow back. "I told you Snow was a jerk."

"Shut up, Johanna."

"Why? He can't hurt me. I'm a single bird, void of any emotional attachments. The only way to bring me down is to kill me."

"Do you ever stop talking?"

"Brutal honesty is one of my many attractive qualities."

I look up at the ceiling, searching for the camera. She winks. "You're a piece of work, you know that?"

"Yeah, so, about the love story?"

* * *

><p>I take home a Victor. It seems so soon, only two years after Annie's Games. He's stubborn and overly self confident, kind of like me. He isn't even happy that he wins the Games. He acts as if he deserved it the whole time. The crowd adored him.<p>

Johanna says goodbye to me with a punch on the shoulder and, of course, an annoying remark. "Life's too short!" She sings, before walking the opposite direction at the train station. She wasn't exactly nice, but I'm glad I got to see her again after all these years. Now that she would be returning, we could get back to our usual mischief and act like kids again.

"Life's too short for what?" Jax asks; following behind me like an annoying camera.

"None of your concern." I smile at him as politely as I can manage. He smirks, as usual.

"Okay, whatever." He walks off to his room like he owns the place. Something tells me that it's going to be interesting living next to this kid.

* * *

><p>Despite how exhausted I am, I have on a huge smile when I walk into Mags kitchen. Annie runs to me and hugs me, and I mentally scold myself for wanting to kiss her. But later, when we lie face to face in the dark, I keep thinking about what Johanna said to me about life being too short. Obviously she learned from experience, but what if she was wrong? This wasn't the same situation.<p>

"What are you thinking about?" Annie touches my cheek with her icy hand. She pulls back when I shiver, but I take her hand and smile. It would get annoying leaving her every summer.

"You." I scold myself again because I know I'm about to ruin everything.

Her smile fades. "Why?"

"I love you." The words seem to slide out slowly. They feel strange on my tongue. I've never said them before in my life. I remember ranting to Mags once about how stupid people are to fall in love. But this seems different. It wasn't falling in love, it was wanting to protect someone, wanting to be with them all the time, not seeing them in the same way as other people do because-

"I love you too." She says it like a fact. Then we both start laughing. My chest feels significantly lighter. Annie has a way of making me forget the bad side of everything.

* * *

><p><em>Annie<em>

"Has she still been insisting on doing everything herself?" Finnick asks me, as we get out dishes for breakfast at Mags' house.

"Yeah, but I convinced her to let me get more tea for her the other day. I don't think she could make it all the way…"

"I know." His frown turns into a smile. "She's too stubborn for her own good."

"Hmm, that reminds me of someone else I know."

He flicks water in my face. I'm about to hit him, but then I look down at the plates in my hands and remember something. "I'm sorry I threw a dish at you that one time."

He laughs and takes the plates from me. " It's okay, that was good aim. I bet you had a great teacher." He winks.

"Whatever." I hug him, and before I can see it coming, just like last time, he kisses me.

"Breakfast!" Mags says from the doorway, waving a spatula. I jump halfway across the room, my facing turning beat red. She walks in smiling and hits Finnick on the arm with it.

* * *

><p>"You have to admit, it was kind of funny."<p>

I dig my toes into the sand. "Kind of. Maybe."

"She's been telling me that that would happen since the day we met."

I bury my face in my hands. "Oh gosh. Not that. I was so…"

"Mean?"

"Hey! I-"

"Finnick?" We turn around to see Jax, the winner of this year's Hunger Games.

Finnick narrows his eyes and turns around. "Yes?"

"I thought that was you. Oh, and Annie." He sticks out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too. Congratulations." He doesn't look like a Victor at all. He looks like a completely normal kid out for a walk on the beach.

"So, I have a question for you guys. What do you do all day? Doesn't this get boring?"

"It's only the first day." Finnick looks irritated. "Don't you have to move in to your new house?"

"Eh, we did that last night. It's so weird not having to wake up and do training every day, ya know?"

Finnick doesn't say anything, so I just say, "Yeah, I know."

"Well… I guess I'll ask someone else." He gives Finnick a weird look. "Good to meet you." He smiles at me before walking away quickly.

"Why don't you like him? He seems nice."

"I never said I didn't like him." Finnick shrugs.

"I could just tell."

"Eh," He shrugs, but I can tell something is bothering him. "He's just a little weird, that's all."

I don't see any sign of Jax again for a long time. Not until I have a dream about people lining up outside Finnick's door. I tried to tell him that Tales is in my front yard dying, but he wouldn't listen to me. He kept telling me to get away, that he was busy, and to never bother him again.

Involuntarily, I wake up trying to choke back my screams about Tales lying in my yard without a head. Finnick pulls me onto his lap and holds me tightly, just like always. Only this time, I can't help feeling like something is wrong.

I say that I'll be right back, but I leave the house and run down to the beach. The waves crash loudly in the distance, the water black and churning. I kneel on the edge of the dock, thinking about what it would feel like to jump in. Maybe it would wake me up.

One crash of thunder and I'm falling forward, my head hitting the water first. It's freezing, even though it's only October. My arms feel like lead when I try to push back up to the surface. Bits of seaweed brush against me, but I keep mistaking them for the bodies that floated in the water before the hovercraft came to get them.

I try to scream, but the waves pull me under and my lungs fill will seawater. I think it's almost over when I feel a hand around my waist. I'm being dragged through the water, pulled up on the beach. The person hits my back so the water comes out.

When I'm done coughing, I say, "I'm sorry, Finnick."

He kneels in front of me so I can see his him. Dark hair, dark eyes. "Sorry, I'm not Finnick. He might be wondering where you are soon, though."

"Jax."

He puts a towel around my shoulders. "Yeah, you're lucky I'm weird so I hang out here at night. Are you alright?"

I sit up, wrapping the towel around me tightly. Well, I guess it's too late for me to prove to him I'm not crazy. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall in. I mean; I don't usually swim at night…" Or ever. Finnick is going to kill me. "Thanks for saving me."

"No problem. I knew my nocturnal habits might come in handy some day." There is another loud crack of thunder, but neither of us move. I think my legs are shaking too badly to walk.

I try to act as normal as possible. "What do you do? Fish?"

"Sometimes. Like I said before, being a Victor is kind of boring. Nothing to work towards, ya know?" He shrugs, like this is just a normal conversation on a nice, quiet evening.

I nod. "Hmm, I guess you're right."

"You don't swim often, do you?"

I pull the towel tighter. "No, not really. I'm sorry for making you jump in after me."

"Well I wasn't going to let you _drown_. Besides, I haven't talked to anyone other than my family since I saw you guys on the beach that one day. Is it normal for your friends to not want to hang out with you after you win the Games?" He can't be much younger than me, but he looks like a child, his eyes shining in the dark. He looked more like a Victor now, and suddenly I wish I would have watched the Games instead of keeping the TV on mute with a blanket draped over it. I wonder what his story is.

I don't know; my two best friends were dead after the Games. "You grow apart."

"Annie? Annie!" I jump up when I hear Finnick's voice. My legs wobble, like I just got off a boat or something. Finnick runs over, looking freaked out. "What happened?"

Jax's smirk returns, just like a few months ago on the beach. "I'll take this as my cue to leave"

* * *

><p><em>You should review... You know you want to... :)<em>


	20. Chapter 20

_I'm back! Sorry, I've been working on my book lately. It's coming along... well, I think. My biggest dream is to get it published someday. Maybe I'll link an excerpt on my profile sometime soon. Anywho, here's the next chapter. Yes, they said they loved each other, but since this is the Hunger Games, everything can't be perfect now. Sadly.. _

_Thanks for your lovely reviews guys! Hope you all had a good holiday (: _

* * *

><p>Chapter Twenty- Finnick<p>

I think the one good thing about this is that I won't have to go back to the Capitol for six months, but, because of my luck, the Capitol has come to me.

I take Annie home from the beach, and she is shaking so bad that I bring her to my house because it's the closest. She seems fine, more than she has in a long time. I give her some dry clothes to change into and sit down on the bed, waiting to see if she's going to be back in her own world within a few minutes.

When she comes back from the bathroom, she plops down on the bed next to me, like two kids sitting on a swing set or something. "Sorry about that."

I hold her hand. "You scared me." The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. I meant to say something else, but my words were getting mixed up. Maybe I was tired. But I was used to getting woken up in the middle of the night.

"I know it was stupid." The way she says that makes it sound like she thought about it before jumping.

"Were you trying… were you trying to…?" I can't finish the sentence. It reminds me of the time that Mags found me on my back porch at fifteen, so drunk I couldn't even stand up. "_Finnick, wine doesn't kill you." _She said. She had known exactly what I had been trying to do.

She narrows her eyes at me, like she did on the train so long ago. "No."

"Promise?"

She smiles. "Usually you're the one making promises to me."

"Then it's time for you to take up some of the work around here." I smile back at her, because it's impossible not to.

I don't know why, but somehow my fingers end up tangled in her hair, our lips pressed together. She tastes like salt. Her hands are cold on the back of my neck. I had never been so careful while kissing someone before, and when she pulls away, I feel slightly dizzy.

In the morning, it's not my mom freaking out that wakes me up; it's the doorbell.

I'm horrified when I see who stands there. It's someone I've never seen before, but they have pink eyes and heels that are about five inches tall.

"Wow, Finnick Odair! Even cuter in person!" She gushes, hugging me tightly. "I just HAD to meet you! I'm just passing through, but my friend said that she met you before, and I couldn't resist."

When she let's go, I step away, trying to think clearly. The scent of her perfume fills the whole room. I look at the VIP tag on her sweater with hatred.

"Um, can you just stay in the kitchen for a second. I have to do something. Help your self to… a drink or whatever." I guide her shoulders and push her toward the kitchen because she seems to awed to be here to walk by herself.

I run up the steps to my room, trying not to throw up. I suck in a breath and lean against my doorframe casually, just incase Annie suspected that something was wrong. "Good morning." I say. I thought it would be hard to fake a smile, but I end up giving her a real one. It's hard not to when she looks at me like that. Her hair is a little messy, her cheeks are pink, and she smiles innocently.

"Who was at the door?"

"Oh, it was just my mom's friend, no one important." I walk over to her, ignoring the part of me that wants to kiss her again. "But your dad called. He said he wanted to show you something at your house."

Her smile fades instantly. "Are my brothers okay?"

"Yes, they are. It's nothing bad, I promise." I lie smoothly, but seeing her believe me is a problem. I haven't lied to her since I was mentoring her, and even then, she saw through it. Something in my chest tightens. No one should trust someone like me.

I grab her hand and lead her downstairs, hoping that the capitol girl will still be in the kitchen. But since luck is almost nonexistent in my life, she is standing right at the bottom of the steps. "Oh, there you- is that _Annie?_ Like Crazy Annie?" She looks appalled, like it's ridiculous that Victors would hang out with each other.

"Who are you?" Annie asks quietly, staring at nothing.

"It's my mom's friend." I say quickly.

The Capitol girl's laughter rings through the whole house. "I don't know your mom, silly!"

I feel like something shatters. After she says that, no one talks. Annie drops my hand, starting toward the door. "Annie, wait." I go after her, even though I know I can't make her stay.

"My dad doesn't need me, does he?"

"Annie-"

"It's fine." She says before walking out the door.

* * *

><p><em>Annie<em>

I feel stupid, walking around alone. The Victor's Village seems suffocating today, so I walk to town alone, trying not to think of Finnick.

I know I can't get mad about that. I know. But that girl standing there…

"Annie!" Jax comes up to me outside the bakery. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I was just sleepwalking I guess. I mean, I barely remember anything." That's a lie. I remember everything.

He props some boards of wood higher in his shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. That was a pretty bad storm. I'm just on my way to the dock. I have to fix my family's boat because it blew into another one during the storm."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I say. It's an impulse. When I lived in the poorer part of town, a boat that needed repairs was a huge thorn in the side. It cost so much to repair. But since Jax is a Victor, it's just something to occupy time.

He shrugs. "No big deal. Like I said, I need something to do around here."

"Do you need some help carrying that?"

"No, I'm fine. But I would like some company. You know, if you're not busy." He smiles sincerely.

"I'm free." I say, happy I won't be wondering through town all day.

The damage isn't bad. I sit on the dock, swinging my legs over the side as he fixes a hole in the side. Normally, I'm not good at meeting new people. I'm too suspicious, of course, because of the Games. Because I was stupid enough to trust the careers, which almost let me die.

But Jax is easy to talk to. He isn't as ignorant as he portrayed himself on TV, and I assume it was just a gaming strategy.

"There," He said, leaning back against the side of the wooden boat. "Finished."

I climbed into the boat and sat next him. "Good job. I've never seen someone so young that was able to do it that well."

"Well, my parents do it for a living. I was going to, you know, before the Games. Now, I just see no point."

I nod, needing him to explain no further. We sit in silence for a while. Eventually he talks, asking me a surprising question. "So, Finnick Odair, huh? He seems kind of… unattainable."

I gulp. "What?"

"I mean, how did you guys become friends? He just doesn't seem like the type that would make friends with non-Capitol people."

"Well," I say drily, watching the sun start to set over the water. "People can surprise you."

"Are any of the other Victors friends? Because it seems like no one ever leaves their house."

"I think Callie and Brock are friends, but I don't know. Nobody wants to sit around and talk about how they killed their opponents."

Jax sighed. "Is that what you and Finnick do?"

I bite my lip. "No." I don't really know what Finnick and I do. Sometimes we just sit together; sometimes we talk about random things or play checkers. He had started teaching me how to play piano before he left for Jax's Games.

"Oh." He doesn't ask me to elaborate. "You know, sometimes in school I would dream about winning the Games and being able to meet all these cool people. But honestly, being a Victor is more lonely than anything."

I wonder why Jax is opening up about this to me, but I don't mind. If I hadn't become so close to Finnick, then maybe I would have been crazier. Being completely alone after winning the Games must be awful.

"What about your parents?" I say, trying to be optimistic.

"I don't know." He says, staring at the sunset. "It's just really not the same."

"Well," I say, hating to see anyone upset, "At least we're friends."

He smiles. "I thought you were only hanging out with me because you had nothing else to do."

We stay until the sun sets, and then he walks me back to my house. I watch him carefully, looking for any sign of damage from the Games. It feels weird that he's completely fine, but I assume that I'll find out eventually. At least he doesn't think I'm insane.

"Thanks, Annie. This may seem lame, but I really had a good time today. Thanks for talking to me."

"Thanks for not thinking I'm crazy."

I'm only home for a few minutes before my dad brings the phone to me. He kisses me on the top of the head like he used to after he read me bedtime stories. "It's Finnick."

I shake my head no. I keep picturing the girl with the pink eyes. Did Finnick kiss her like the way he kissed me last night? Did he twine his fingers in her hair and move his lips slowly against hers? I wonder if she smiled against his mouth like I did.

My mouth felt dry and I squirmed in my seat.

"She's asleep…" My dad says, uncomfortable with this. I stand up from the couch and take the phone from him even though I know I'll regret it.

"Hi." I don't know what to say.

"Annie, I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." His voice sounds different and scratchy.

"Did you think I was going to go jumping in the ocean again?"

"I don't know."

"I was with Jax."

The other side of the phone is silent.

"Finnick?"

"Yes?"

"Are _you_ okay?" I ask, because I don't know what else to say. My hands start to shake.

"Yes. I guess I'll see you tomorrow or something."

I start to panic, the images of the pink-eyed girl getting washed away by images of sitting alone with Mags, waiting months for Finnick to talk to me again.

"Or something? Do you have someone else coming to visit?" I comes out the wrong way. My eyes well with tears before I even hear his response.

"Why? Are you planning to spend the day with Jax?"

"What?" I gasp.

"Nothing, just never mind. You know I couldn't control it."

"I know, Finnick. But it's not like I wanted to wait around all day. Besides, he was lonely." I can't make the words sound right.

"Mhmm."

"What? Why aren't you saying anything?" I swallow a lump in my throat.

"I have to go. I'm sorry Annie."

"Finnick-" I frantically search from something to say that will make him stay. "Can you come over for a second? Or-"

I hear him sigh on the other end. I tear runs down my cheek and drips on my finger. "It's not too late. Call Jax, I think he's better for-"

"No," I say, "I want to see you."

"I can't imagine why."

"Finnick, you can't leave again."

It's quiet again. I try to breathe evenly.

"Annie, don't cry. Please."

"Can you come over?"

"Not tonight. I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><em>Please tell me what you think! And also, because I can never decide, I have a random question for you guys: Do you like writing or reading better? <em>


	21. Chapter 21

_I'm reaching into the distance, gasping for air. "Must...finish...story..." Just kidding guys. I've been so busy these past few months though because I've had to stay with my grandma for a while and school is just killing me! Luckily I only have a week left, and then I'll be updating regularly, I promise! _

_I love all of you guys, and I hope I didn't loose any of you with my irregular updating habits! This chapter is cute, if I do say so myself. Enjoy! _

* * *

><p>Chapter Twenty-One – Finnick<p>

Self-loathing isn't really a new concept for me, but this time it seems to be a lot harder.

There's been books about it… love.

When I first became a mentor, I searched for that a lot. In the Capitol, I would read books at the training center, just trying to figure out exactly what it meant. I know one thing though, it's not found in a quick night in bed with someone you've just meant.

However, the books are also wrong.

It's not found in physical contact either. Nothing to do with appearance or lust.

There's just that person that completes you.

Annie is that person.

The problem is that Annie could be that person for anyone. She's perfect.

She could be that person for Jax.

It's hard to make sense of what's going through my mind, and I lean against the counter for a long time, forcing myself not to call Annie back and beg her to forgive me.

If President Snow has some hidden cameras around here to make sure I did my job, I bet he's getting a sick laugh out of this.

For the first time in forever, I'm trying to hold back from collapsing and just forgetting everything.

For some reason, Haymitch Abernathy's drunk smile flashes in my mind. Maybe I should have just turned to alcohol. I bet we would have become great drinking buddies.

I go upstairs and get in the shower, even though I took one before I called Annie. I let the water run over me for a long time, not moving. I try to push it away, but I can't stop thinking about Annie. I want to go over there so badly, just to make sure she's okay, but that would be so selfish of me. I can only hope she took my advice to call Jax.

Hopefully he would make her feel better, because it would be too self-centered if I ever touched her again. Even brushing her hair away from her eyes would be too much to ask.

I get out when the water runs too cold to stand. I'm angry that my sore body isn't enough to distract me from my faults. At least something physical would pull me out of for just a minute. I consider playing piano, but my mom is already asleep.

I wonder into my room, but as soon as I see the stars that Annie painted on my ceiling, my stomach rolls. I can't take it. I whirl around and run down the steps, already contemplating how I will beg her to forgive me. I swing the front door open so hard that it hits the wall with a crack that I'm sure woke my mother.

I'm halted in my tracks though, as I see a small girl with long dark hair and bright green eyes looking at me with an unfathomable expression on her lovely face. Her arm is raised as though she was just about to knock.

I stand there for a second, balling my hands into fists so that I don't touch her. It doesn't work though, because she steps forward and wraps her arms around my waist very tightly and rests her head on my chest.

I push her arms lightly, trying to get her off, to realize what a mistake she is making by being here. The sick thing is, that I can't imagine her with Jax either. I try to swallow, but my throat is too dry.

"Annie-"

"Don't bother." She mutters, still not letting go.

I'm taken back to the train before her games because of that statement. A part of the old Annie comes out from where she's buried it. She's still as stubborn when she likes to be.

"I love you so much." I choke.

In the morning, Annie is still asleep when I wake up. I cover her up with the blanket and watch the sun rays peak through the window and touch her face, causing it to glow. I make her breakfast, and when my mom comes down, she doesn't take any stabs at Annie for once.

* * *

><p>All mistakes come with consequences, even the ones you were forced to commit by an evil, self-centered old man.<p>

Though Annie I don't leave each other's sides for the next four months, Jax hardly leaves us be. Annie thinks he's wonderful, of course, and I'll forever be amazed by her ability to see the good in every sort of situation. She's like an innocent child, complimenting the upside of everyone she meets. I even see it when we go to town to shop. Though it's easy to see that her eyes are sometimes far away, she never fails to leave me smiling.

Then again, maybe it's only me that sees those qualities. The books I've read say that love does that to you. However, when I looked before, I had nothing to compare it to. When we go to the Captiol for Jax's Victory Tour, I'll be sure to scour the pages again, this time only reaffirming something I already understand.

"You're thinking about the victory tour?" Annie whispers to me one morning in Mags' guestroom. I didn't know she was awake. I roll over to her and smile because waking up to her every morning never gets old.

"Are you a mind reader?" I kiss her on the nose.

"You always bite your lip when you think about bad things." She says quietly, like she's afraid I'll be angry with her.

"I wasn't thinking about bad things. I was just thinking about the books I want to read."

I brush her cheek with my fingers, and her eyes flutter shut. It's quiet for a while, allowing me to hear the wails of seagulls in the distance combined with the wind drifting through the open window.

Just as I am being lulled into that place between sleeping and waking, I hear Annie's voice. "Do you want to build a boat?"

That would normally startle people, her abrupt randomness. I know that something led her there though. Her mind may not be all the way here, but that doesn't mean it isn't somewhere else, in a place the rest of us aren't lucky enough to see.

"A boat? Why?"

"I don't know, Finnick." Her green eyes look just to the side of my head. This isn't one of the rare times where she looks me in the eye. "I just… I want to."

"I have a boat, Love." I smile at her gently, hoping this doesn't have something to do with her fear of drowning. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night, afraid to go to the restroom because she thinks the faucet is dangerous.

"But not a boat that _you_ own. A boat that you possess, but the Capitol owns. If you build it yourself, it's yours." She shrugs like it's the most normal thing in the world. She's right, but I don't see the point. I'll do it if she wants to though, it's not like we don't have the time. We mostly spend our days in Mags' living room, playing games or talking. Sometimes Annie paints, or I'll read them a book, and Mags mumbles and giggles along with whatever we do.

"I have a lot of things that are mine, Annie…" She plays with the collar of my shirt, distracting me and causing me to trail off midsentence.

"I'm yours."

* * *

><p>"Knock knock!" Jax walks into Mags' kitchen, carrying fresh bread.<p>

Mags' smiles her gummy smile at him and reaches out her arms in a gesture of welcome. Like Annie, she's fully impressed by Jax too. I still can't place why I'm not fond of him, though I know something is there. Maybe it's just the fact that you can't tell he's a Victor.

With everyone else, you can see it in their eyes. You just _know_.

With Jax, nothing. He could still be the innocent schoolboy he was last year, fixing boats with his father. Maybe I'm just jealous.

"Guess what, Jax?"

"What is it, Annie?" He instantly beams when he looks at her, focusing all his attention on her beautiful pale face.

I shift uneasily, and Mags shoots me a glance with raised eyebrows. It's like she knows my every thought. I feel the urge to leave the room, but I take the bread from the table and begin to cut it.

"We're going to built a boat!"

I'll give Jax credit for one thing, he definitely doesn't think Annie is crazy. Or if he does, he doesn't show it. He doesn't seem the least bit surprised about Annie's sudden desire, and his eyes actually light up with excitement.

"You're going to help, right?"

He puts his arm on her shoulder. "Of course," He looks at me before adding, "What brought this on, may I ask?"

"To own something that's not the Capitol's." I say, looking at Annie for confirmation. She nods, but she twitches when I say the word "Capitol."

"Rebellious, aren't we?" His tone is playful, but the words seem to have a challenging note to them. "Are you sure that this is okay?" He seems to put the emphasis on the last word, and I shift uneasily again.

"It's okay." Annie says quietly.

The room has a weird atmosphere suddenly.

I decide to studiously ignore it and pass out the bread. Maybe in this whole boat adventure, I'll be able to find a legitimate excuse to stay away from Jax.

* * *

><p><em>Boy, do I have plans for this story... strange, I always have the best ideas at one in the morning... but stuff is about to get interesting. Please leave a comment if you have time! <em>


End file.
